The Catch-22 of "Why"

2026-02-15

Turning brainstorming AI prompt into a blogpost

Blogpost Brainstorming

I sat down today to write a “proper” blogpost about the architecture of this site. I wanted to explain the tech stack, the Terraform, and the “why” behind it all.

I got stuck. I realized I was trying to manufacture a purpose that I haven’t fully discovered yet. I was polishing a statue before I’d even found the stone.

I started typing an AI prompt to explore the idea. Just before I sent the prompt, I had the idea: make the prompt I had just typed my blogpost.

So, in the spirit of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and the Lean Startup, I am rejecting the “polished final draft.” I am shipping the raw work in progress.

Here is exactly what I was thinking, unedited:

AI Prompt

Ok. I’m think thinking of writing a blog post about the process I’m using to build my blog and why I’m building my blog. I’m not totally sure of why I’m building my blog, and that’s what I want to explore in my post.

However, I’m in a catch 22 situation. I feel like my blog is an emergent system in its early state. I feel like I’m being pulled to make this a creative outlet, but I don’t know where it’s going or why. The catch 22 is that I think I have to build it to find my real why.

I also what to apply concepts to zen for doing it. Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and Lila, and the book “On Quality” a big influences here. Ramit Sethi’s ideas on what a rich life looks like are also in my mind.

I can’t describe it properly, but I think that applying concepts from the Toyota Way and Lean Startup are also relevant. Build a small thing, live with it a while, and let my experience with it guide me to what to do next. It should be free flowing. Not forced. The work is the purpose. Quality is what I deem it to be. Doing what feels right and is in accordance with my values and needs. It fits like a glove designed just for me. It forces me to listen to what my body is telling me. It shows the work in progress. It opens the process for the world to see. I’m building it for me. The process is the value.

That’s the gist of what I’m thinking about for a post. This post is part of the process, not separate from it. That’s why it’s a catch 22. Common wisdom is to keep these ideas to yourself until they are fully baked. I want to challenge that. I’m afraid of criticism and a perfectionist. I’m never happy I spot even a single flaw. I think that’s a common problem. At some point we have to decide it’s good enough to ship. I think that’s where we mix up our self worth with our work. If our work is flawed, we’re flawed is the trap.

Therapy taught me that my I deserve love and happiness no matter what. Even when I’ve made mistakes. I’m so scared for the world to see what I’m capable of if I was able to be my full creative self without fear of criticism.

How do I turn that into a blog post?