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Those three words greet me each time I go to write my daily blog.

Most days, it does not take me too long to figure out something to write about, but other days, like today, it is a struggle. I just sit and stare at the blank screen you see above, the blinking cursor taunting me to write that first word.

And you may wonder, like I do during such moments, why bother to write something if you have nothing to write about it.

It’s a good question, and I’ve often thought about why I do it.

Part of it is probably a little bit of OCD; I’ve gotten to the point where I just have to post something to my blog each day. It’s become a necessary part of my daily routine.

Part of it is the mental challenge; coming up with something to write about each day. I remember when I started this blog on January 1, 2015, in response to an online challenge to write for 31 straight days. I remember how hard that was, but I made it through. I then thought, let me see if I can get to 100 straight days, then it became 1 year, then 500 straight days, then 2 years, then 1,000 straight days, and now I’m one day away from making it three straight years of writing something every day.

Part of it is my competitive nature; I want to see how long I can keep the streak going. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d love to break Cal Ripken’s record of playing in 2,632 consecutive baseball games. That means I can’t miss a day until March 17, 2022. How appropriate that it would be on St. Patty’s Day, one of my favorite days of the year!

Part of the reason was wanting to get better at writing, and I kept reading, from several sources, that the best way to get better at writing is to just keep writing. I’m not sure that’s happened, but I don’t think I’ve gotten worse. (I started with a pretty low bar).

Part of it is that writing forces me to clarify my thoughts and opinions. By then sharing it with others, I hopefully get to hear what their thoughts are on the topic, and I become more informed.

Many days, admittedly, I don’t have much to say, but somehow, something comes to me, like this post. I think I’ve said it before; coming up with the idea is 95% of the effort; actually writing the blog is the easy part.

So there you go, another blog about nothing.

But at least that blinking cursor can stop taunting me now.