The Best Time to Start Blogging
Ha! You fell right into my trap! You have been clickbaited, yet again.
Based on the title, you probably thought this post was going to be about how today is the best time to start blogging, because of the ease and availability of tools like Bear Blog. Or, maybe you expected me to argue that it was best to start a blog 20 years ago, before social media and the modern internet landscape. That is partially true.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
The best time to start blogging was 20 years ago. Think of how articulate you would be after 20 years of consistent blogging. You would have a massive collection of posts, and maybe even a large contingent of loyal readers. But you probably have not been blogging for 20 years. If you haven't started yet, and you're thinking about it, the next best time is now. Of course, this wisdom applies broadly. It's not exclusive to planting trees and blogging.
Humans are good at learning. When I make tea, I wait for it to cool down before attempting to drink it. Why? Because I have burned my mouth on freshly poured tea enough times to know better. But humans are not as adept at learning from long-term regrets. Have you ever started exercising again after a long break and thought: "Wow! This isn't so bad. Why haven't I done this in ages?" Then eventually you let your exercise regimen slip, and end up repeating the process all over again.
We don't often think about consequences unless they are immediate. If I sip the scalding tea, I will be in pain. But if your goal is to be physically fit or an avid blogger, and you don't start today, you will not experience the pain of regret until some time down the road. It will be when you wish you had already achieved your goal that you regret not starting. What a shame, you could have already done it!
If your brain is anything like mine, it is not leaving you useful feedback for these long-term lessons. When I stop and think that I could already have many years of experience blogging, my brain does something like this:
Ok, got it. In the next life, remember to start blogging as a teenager. Otherwise, you will regret it when you get older!
As if I expect to be reincarnated, and believe that my current brain can somehow install memories to my next physical form! For some reason, my default thought process is that I have already missed my chance to reach my aspirations in this lifetime. I don't know what makes me think the iteration time is the entire remainder of my life, instead of realizing that I could start today. Maybe it is some deeply rooted form of perfectionism, where I believe that anything I was not a child prodigy at, is not worth doing at all.
I want to be an active blogger. So here I am, making a post. There is no reason to wait. Sure, I wish I had been doing this for longer. So to quench that desire in my future self, I blog today.