Why I write my first article on Vocal

I have always been fearful of publishing my works in public, often wondering if what I write is good enough, do I have anything valuable to offer to people to make the best of their time and if anyone would actually bother to read what I write.

The past 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic made me reflect on how I have been living my life for the past 30 odd years, and the many lost dreams and opportunities. Life feels even more fragile as we get older. Perhaps now is the time to let go of the fears that are holding me back and take that leap of faith to just do it.

Here are what I hope to achieve when I look back at this article a year later.

1. To be more confident

Confidence is likely the hardest thing to build, especially in this modern age where social media tends to only show the “perfect” lives of everyone else. If my photos or articles do not get as many likes, does that mean I am not good enough or should I give up and stop posting them?

I hope that I can build up my confidence through writing on Vocal, have the courage to filter out the noise, be humble to learn from people who have different views and perhaps be able to help someone through my sharing.

2. To organise my thoughts better

Being a thinker, my mind is constantly preoccupied with many random thoughts and ideas, and they are all over the place. I am not sure if anyone else feels this way too or am I really the odd one out? Putting things down in writing forces me to sit down and focus my thoughts, one at a time. Although while writing this, my mind is also thinking of what I should eat for a snack and keeping count of the calories. It is absolutely not easy at all.

3. Consistency

There are so many things we want to do and learn, but most of us lack the discipline to be consistent. This is also the main reason why we failed to achieve what we initially set out to do. To be honest, I am also guilty of this. I have often left things uncompleted and for once, I want to be more consistent to achieve something, which in this case is writing articles. Would consistency lead me to become an established writer eventually? I look forward to finding out too!

4. Give to receive

Giving is one of the greatest virtues. Very often, we are reluctant to make the first move so that we would not come across as some weirdo. It is our human nature to self-protect so that we would not get hurt.

I am not the smartest person in the room and no one would even notice my existence in there. But I trust that there may be some knowledge or value that I can still bring to someone, no matter how insignificant it is. And by taking this initiative, I believe that I will also be able to learn from others who may in turn feel more comfortable sharing their knowledge and perspectives too.

5. Improve to excel

We are our greatest competitor, not anyone else. I believe that bettering myself brings the greatest achievement over surpassing any other human being. Seeing how much improvement I have made through putting in hard work brings me satisfaction.

I hope that when I revisit this article a year later, I can give myself a pat on the back and say “Hey, you did it”.