On rants

I have long been wanting to get back into a habit of writing but I’ve lately been struggling with finding good topics to write about. So I asked on Twitter about how other people who write come up with good topic ideas.

Eventually, Einar chimed in, and the topic of rants came up. I have a lot of those in me.

But for some reason, I never feel comfortable writing them down, let alone publish them. I generously share my rants with people face-to-face though (I guess I’m sorry, everyone).

So what gives?

For one, having a strong opinion on something doesn’t necessarily mean you’re right. Sometimes you’re just a bit naïve, sometimes you’re outright ignorant. The former can be cute, the latter quite offensive. Neither makes you look particularly smart.

I don’t enjoy looking dumb in public, and I have enough self-insight to see that I have a decent chance at actually being misguided.

So there is that.

Add the baggage of my educational background. I didn’t follow a “traditional” path, I have no formal education in my field. I am easily dismissed, even more so when I get things slightly wrong.

At the same time, I don’t feel like publishing even the strong opinions that I am pretty confident about because they ruffle feathers and I step on toes.

In the end, it boils down to my own insecurities and an aversion to heated online debates. And of course enough of a delusion that anyone would actually read anything I publish.

Am I holding myself back without much reason? Quite likely.

Maybe we should all reflect on where our insecurities lie and where we’re censoring ourselves?