Hello, World.
I’m sitting in bed on a Monday night just staring at my screen, glancing upon something I’ve been subconsciously avoiding for months. Here it is, the first post I’m pressing the “publish” button on. It may not seem like much on the surface, but it represents something much larger than just pressing a button. I’ve found myself highly motivated to get this blog up and running. I’m learning about things I find so much passion and interest in, yet I’m unable to commit to use that passion to put it on paper and press publish. Always an edit to be made on the design, not wanting to start the site until I’ve written at least 10 articles, or just reasoning away my free time with other, less fulfilling, things to do.
Pressing publish means I’m leaving the security of my own thoughts to practice better articulating my thoughts and ideas. It involves the acceptance of my passion and diving into it to better understand and share it with others. It means that I must be vulnerable by giving up a piece of myself through my work to be seen and even critiqued. It is deciding to finally go for something that feels like it’ll crush you if you fail. That can be scary, in fact, that IS scary.
As humans, we crave belonging and acceptance from those around us. We tend to keep a lot of pressure on ourselves when it comes to fitting in and avoiding rejection. Putting ourselves out there, however that may be, brings the fear of being dismissed. Rejection can make us feel like we’re going to lose everything. On the optimistic side, it also means sharing more of our genuine selves with those around us. That genuineness can foster incredibly deeper connections with good people in life. Those connections are the ones that fulfill us, they give us a support system. It made me remember a simple idea, courage. My hope of connecting with anyone who wants to ponder and discuss these ideas and stories I’ll be sharing is much more important than my fear of them all being rejected. I’ll do the thing that scares me.
The time is now. Hello world, welcome to Optimistically Jon. I am beyond excited to understand life better, together.
