Here is my word of the year 2020: Ship.
I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks. It started with the word Do but I knew something was missing. Do is an action, but it is not aggressive enough. Ship is more than just doing and creating. In case you’re wondering: Ship? As in, a cruise ship? Or as in shipping my manga character with the second lead and seeing that fall apart in front of my eyes?
Steve Jobs once said, “Real artists ship.”
In the tech world (and in cargo shipping terms), shipping means getting your stuff out to the world. This can be shipping your product or services to your customers, publishing a blog or a YouTube channel, posting your travel photos on social media, whatever it is… What this really means is to finally make your ideas and thoughts happen. Yes, those ideas you’ve kept private for years with excuses piling up like dust bunnies. And when I say you, I’m actually just talking about myself.
I have a lot of ideas and dreams. Like other ENFPs, my vivid imaginations can only be rivalled by my ever-changing directions in life. Ooh, look shiny things! I go from one thing to another like the fleeting wind. (Lucky for me, life has been kind and I have managed to settle on a number of important things in life. But as for ideas… I am still learning.) The thing with ideas and dreams is that it’s just in my head until I make it happen. Until I curb my procrastination, sit down, make things happen and press the imaginary Ship button, the ideas will be just that.
Example time! In December 2017, I decided that I wanted to start a YouTube channel by the time I moved to Japan in February 2018. I created the channel name. I made the logo. I asked close friends and family to subscribe. And I even made my 5-second animated intro. All that was done by January 2018. All I needed was to post videos once I moved to Japan. And moved, I did. Videos, I did not post (why am I Yoda-ing?!). Fast forward to December 2019. I posted my YouTube intro video and publish it, nervously. I was sweating for two hours straight, not kidding. It took me two years.
Why so long? I have excuses. From time to gear constraints, from “I can’t speak in front of the camera” to “I did film something but now my hair colour changed so the intro won’t work”, from “maybe YouTube isn’t for me” to “I give up”. I questioned the reasons why I wanted to start one and slowly my resolve became weaker and weaker. And that’s how fear works. I can tell you this because I have a crapload of fears. I run away from them like I run away from life’s responsibilites zombies. I literally went from wanting to ship things to going online to shop for things! But this year, I want to learn to not do that.
Since you’re going to ship anyway, then, the question is: why bother indulging your fear? In a long distance race, everyone gets tired. The winner is the runner who figures out where to put the tired, figures out how to store it away until after the race is over. Sure, he’s tired. Everyone is. That’s not the point. The point is to run. Same thing is true for shipping, I think. Everyone is afraid. Where do you put the fear?
Seth Godin
Where do I put the fear? Where do you put your fears?
We often look up to people with great ideas, but the only way we know about them is because they dare to ship their ideas into action. I think the opposite of fear is to Ship. Ship work you’re proud of. Ship some you’re not so proud of. (This does not mean we should not strive for excellence though, that balance is necessary, another convo for another day.)
Ship. That’s my word of the year for 2020. It’s going to be tough. I procrastinate, I lose motivation, my hormones go on rollercoaster rides, life gets busy. But let’s not let our excuses and fears define our lives, shall we?
So what happened to those excuses I wrote at the start? I realise I have the right gear all along. My phone and a tabletop tripod (mukbang footage is important). I realise I don’t always have to speak in front of the camera, I can mime it out. It looks ridiculous, but it’s also pretty funny and I’m learning to accept my constraints as my strengths haha. My hair colour/length will change as my unedited videos continue to grow, but I shall not let inconsistencies stop me from oversharing content I’ve already filmed. Now, YouTube still isn’t for me in some ways, because I’m not the type that watches a lot of vlogs… But YouTube is also the right platform for me to grow creatively and learn discipline, so I will go on. Time is still a constraint, I’m realising how much time it takes to film, edit, script, publish and promote a video. Time is always going to be a constraint, but if time is all I’m worried about, then I can learn to make time.
Ship before you’re ready, because you will never be ready. Ready implies you know it’s going to work, and you can’t know that. You should ship when you’re prepared, when it’s time to show your work, but not a minute later.
Seth Godin
YouTube is only one example. Finally resuming this blog is another (writing has always been therapeutic). I want this year to be creatively fulfilling for me, shipping random ideas I have in my head. It’s going to be fun. I hope you go on this journey with me while creating and shipping things you love too! And whatever your word of the year is, I hope that you too are enjoying the journey of learning and discovery as this year progresses. Do not lose hope.
