A few years ago, I worked with a marketing consultant who was adamant: I needed to be on LinkedIn.
“You’re a thought leader,” she said. “You need to post there regularly.”
At the time, I already had a solid platform. I wasn’t trying to get discovered, but the logic made sense: be where the people are. Show up consistently. Stay relevant.
So I did it. I posted regularly. Insights, tips, reflections.
One morning, halfway through fixing a post I’d already fixed twice, I paused.
And I asked myself a simple question: Why am I doing this?
Not in a heavy, existential way. In a curious way—like someone tugging on your sleeve and whispering, “Hey, this thing you’re doing every day? What’s it actually for?”
Funny how the simplest questions tend to hit the hardest. They just quietly cut through the noise and wait for an honest answer.
The answer wasn’t obvious. I wasn’t posting on LinkedIn because it brought me joy. I wasn’t connecting with new people in meaningful ways. I wasn’t seeing a real impact on my platform. I was doing it because… well, that’s what thought leaders are supposed to do.
There it was. The supposed to.
It’s amazing how often that phrase quietly runs the show.
We rarely stop to question what we’re doing because it takes effort. It might mean changing course. It might lead to an uncomfortable truth, like: “This thing I’ve been putting time into? It’s not actually serving me.”
Now, I ask that question more often. Quietly, without judgment.
Why am I doing this?
Why am I hosting this meeting?
Why am I saying yes to this project?
Why am I checking my email again?
Look around your own life.
That weekly status meeting—does it have a clear purpose? Or is it just a recurring calendar event everyone silently resents, but no one dares to cancel?
The water glasses you reach for every day—are they in that awkward cabinet because that’s where they belong? Or because that’s where you stuck them when you moved in, and just left them there ever since?
Your weekly brainstorming session—does it actually generate good ideas? Or is it more of a group improv show where everyone’s trying to sound clever?
The goal isn’t to optimize.
It’s to come more alive. It’s to notice the places where you’re sleepwalking through your routines. It’s to realize that just because something was a good idea doesn’t mean it still is.
If you love posting on LinkedIn—if it energizes you, if it sparks new ideas, if it feels like play—then that’s your answer. Keep going. Do more of it.
But if you’re doing something just because you’ve always done it? Or because you think you’re supposed to? That’s worth rethinking.
So the next time you catch yourself mid-scroll, mid-meeting, or mid-whatever, ask yourself: Why am I doing this?
Often, the only thing standing between you and a more fulfilling life is a question you haven’t paused to ask.
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Bold
