I'm afraid to write on the internet

I don't post on this site much and that bothers me. I want to write more, often have ideas for things to write about, and may even jot down some notes and thoughts, but rarely get around to posting things. Why? To be honest, I don't post here mostly because I'm kind of afraid to.

I worry I don't have anything interesting or unique to say. That's probably true, but as I think about it, who cares? I don't write professionally, to gain a following, entertain, or impress people. I write because it helps me think. I don't have to blog to write of course, but publishing my writing forces me to spend a little more time thinking things through to the end and organizing my thoughts. As a side benefit, if people find something I write interesting or helpful, that's awesome. But if not, that shouldn't stop me. The exercise is useful in and of itself.

I also worry that I might say something that's wrong or offend someone. This concern actually governs all of my online activities, or lack thereof. I can be pretty insecure about being wrong, or exposing myself to criticism in general. I worry that if I make a mistake or admit I don't know something then people will think less of me. The fact is that I will be wrong on occasion, and because this is the internet, someone will probably think I'm an idiot because of it. But I know better than to be concerned about that. Everyone makes mistakes, and reasonable people understand that. No one knows everything, and I think reasonable people understand that, too. After all, people that know me seem to think I'm reasonably competent despite the fact that I screw up or say dumb things pretty regularly. Why do I care what unreasonable people think? I should get over it.

Another concern (that is probably an excuse to avoid confronting the fears discussed above) is that I need to pick a topic and stick with it. My "audience" will be confused or turned off if I'm posting about stats one day and video games the next. I don't have an audience though, and again that's not why I want to do this in the first place. I think about and am interested in a lot of different things. If I restrict myself to writing about one thing, I'm never going to do it. Which brings us to where we are today.

These are a few of the fears and excuses that keep me from blogging, and engaging online in general. I'm going to work on getting over them. I'm not going to commit to writing with any frequency or anything, but I'll stop worrying so much about the topic, making mistakes, being ultra thorough, etc. If I'm open to just writing about what's on my mind without worrying so much, I'm sure I'll find many more opportunities to post than I do now. Let's see.