I decided on June 21, 2022, to post daily. In no particular order, here is a list of five things I’ve learned over the last 34 days.

1) Discipline breeds more discipline.

Discipline. The word evokes negative images in our mind, but really discipline should be viewed as a positive. For example, when I decided to start riding my bike to regain my health, I noticed my eating habits improved. I became disciplined in one area, and it led to making better choices in another area of life. I’ve learned there are similar benefits from setting aside time to write every day.

Before jumping into the deep end of the pool of daily posting without floaties, I would make every excuse for not writing. (I’m the king of procrastination.) However, when I began to see the “streak-notifications” in my WordPress feed, it felt good. Like Jerry Seinfeld’s red x’s on the calendar, these notifications motivated me to write.

2) People are supportive.

We all know people can be negative. Just visit Twitter or Facebook, right? However, after posting to my blog daily, I’ve noticed many people are encouragers. Family, friends, and complete strangers have cheered me as I plod my way around the blogosphere trying to find my voice.

3) Your gift makes room for you.

I’ve also learned that your gift will make room for you. If you’re familiar with this phrase, you know that is comes from the Bible. Proverbs 18:16 states, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men” (KJV). Through the practice of sharing my thoughts with others here, I’ve been allowed to have conversations with others that would have never happened otherwise.

4) Every thought doesn’t need to be groundbreaking.

We all want to be original. But to be original, your thoughts don’t have to be groundbreaking. For example, I wrote about riding my bike in the countryside in a post called Bluefish Solitude, and people loved it. All I shared was an average experience from my perspective. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking to garner attention, people love reading genuine pieces written from a unique point of view.

5) Every thought doesn’t need to be published.

Finally, I’ve learned I don’t have to publish every thought. When you’re trying to say something unique every single day, you worry that you’ll run out of things to say. With this fear comes the temptation, to slap something up, so you can check it off the list of things to do. Over the last month, I’ve been guilty of this. But as I continue to write, I realize some ideas need to ferment and others need go straight to the garbage. However, if I hadn’t begun to write daily, how would I even know which is which?