Making decisions can be pretty difficult. I think one of the reasons for that is that there often is a big difference between what we consider to be the pragmatic choice and what we actually want.
We are so used to rationalizing what we want and justifying it pragmatically, that we don't even recognize what we want anymore. We are deaf to our own desires.
Anyway, I was trying to decide where to set up my writing tent. On Medium (again) or on a personal blog. There are pros and cons for each of these but in the end Medium is the "pragmatic" choice. It requires minimal setup, I am already there, it has a built in audience and the potential to make some money on the side.
The blog on the other hand requires more setup, there will be crickets for a while (or even for a long time) and the financial reward would be neutral (no money) or negative (actually paying for things).
Everything points to Medium being the better option. But I was not sure. I kept lingering on the blog thing.
Until I asked myself this question: What will you be prouder to have made in a year form now?
Instead of asking myself what would be the "smart" choice, I asked myself what I would be proud of having made.
And there the blog wins. Hands down. Even if only very few people ever read it and it never gains traction, I would be proud to have a monument to the commitment of writing every day in public. Of putting my thoughts out there regardless of the format and regardless of what I think the audience (or the Medium curators) will like.
My very own little pile of writing. In a place that I own.
