I was sitting here looking at the office/podcasting studio, and couldn't help but notice the standing and sitting desks right next to one another. At that moment, an apt metaphor came to me:
Life Is Like Sitting At A Standing Desk In The Ways That We Limit Ourselves.
Here, I have a standing desk that I put together, but never use. If that doesn't say something about missed opportunities, I don't know what will. I mean, I could go over there and start using it, but that would mean having to hook up the computer and the monitor, etc. when it's so much easier to remain here at my nice, comfortable sitting desk.
I'm reminded of an old interview that Jerry Garcia gave when asked if he was working on new music. He remarked sarcastically that there was always something more pressing that he'd rather do, like cleaning the litter box.
So the best way to break through that lethargy is to just get started, and that's what happened with this post. It began with just that one line about sitting at a standing desk and was added to over the hours as bits and pieces came to me.
That's the part I love about the creative process, creating something from nothing.
I don't rush it. It goes in fits and starts. When I have nothing, I just stop, go watch a video, read something or play a game, then all of a sudden, a rush of creativity comes upon me, and I hurry to my keyboard to get it all down before I lose it.
It doesn't have to be perfect either, the rough edges can be burnished later on. The important thing is to build the scaffold first, then add to it as if constructing some strangely fulfilling Frankenstein being. Somehow it all seems to come together in a satisfying way in the end.
Just looking at that blonde-wood standing desk to my left led to the words you're reading right now. That creative spark (still ongoing), is what Hivians who cheat themselves by copying others and using Chat GPT, miss out on.
That halting effort is how you become better as a writer. Cutting corners with AI may help them rape the Hive reward pool, but you're missing out on moments like this.
As I write this, I have almost no idea what the next paragraph will be like. However, after years of doing this (the honest way), I have an extensive bank of "word creativity" that's built up in my brain. Reading, research, and just my natural curiosity about the world around me add to that bank over time, making me all the richer as a writer for it.
The true creative types reading this text understand.
I'm sure you go through the same thing when putting your own digital "pen" to paper. That's what makes this all so satisfying. When you've finally nailed it, said what you intended to say, and then can begin the process of sanding down those rough edges, and creeping steadily forward to publication.
Feels good doesn't it?
The sitting at a standing desk thing can also apply to missed opportunities that are right in front of you, such as Hive.
There's no place quite like it, and I love the way it opens doors especially for those in developing countries. A little bit of crypto can go a long way in such places, and we've seen lives transformed due to Hive. However, it's not enough to see the opportunity, one has to be willing to act on it as well.
That's why I'm glad I finally made the leap from lurking in 2016 to blogging in 2017. That time gave me the chance to learn best practices so I could hit the ground running when it was time to press the start button to begin my journey on the blockchain.
Those of you reading this that are new to Hive will likely find it as a result of a Google search or via one of my MANY social media accounts. There, I regularly see engagement from content I posted weeks months, or even years ago, so I know creating content over the long-term works, even if you may not see results immediately.
Just keep plugging away.
And whatever you do...
Don't sit at standing desks.
Rise up and #ThriveOnHive :)