🌱 If No One Was Watching

Real John here… this week I wrote something different. Something that I felt not to inform, share, but to reflect to myself. I hope it means something to you but after writing this, I know I simply care that I wrote it for no one other than my own joy.

My wife asked me a deceptively simple question the other night:

“If social media didn’t exist and no one was watching, what would you do? Not for visibility, fame, or money — but simply because you love it?”

And I froze.

I didn’t have an answer.

That bothered me. Because it revealed something: so much of what I do is tangled up in visibility, achievement, recognition — the never-ending theater of proving I’m “enough.” It’s subtle, almost invisible, but it’s there. And I suspect I’m not alone.

🎭 The Status Theater Trap

In work, in startups, even in personal life — we often perform.

We pick hobbies that sound impressive.

We write posts designed to land.

We chase the “next thing” because staying still feels like falling behind.

It’s not always vanity. Sometimes it’s survival. Sometimes it’s ambition. But left unchecked, it becomes a joyless grind. What once was play becomes performance.

🌿 The Lost Art of Simple Joy

Here’s the thing: real joy doesn’t need an audience.

It’s found in things that don’t scale, don’t impress, and don’t trend.

A walk with my dogs in the early morning.

Coffee with my wife before the emails start.

The quiet satisfaction of making the bed, brushing my teeth, and opening the blinds — a small ritual of order before the world’s chaos.

None of that will “go viral.” But maybe that’s the point.

🔍 The Hard Question for All of Us

So I’ll ask you the same question my wife asked me:

👉 If no one was watching — no likes, no applause, no promotion — what would you do simply because it brings you joy?

And if you don’t have an answer yet (like me), maybe the work isn’t to chase something new, but to relearn how to notice.

Notice the dog wagging his tail. Notice the way sunlight cuts across your desk. Notice how a small act of kindness changes your whole day.

Joy often hides in plain sight, waiting for us to stop performing long enough to see it.

⚡ A Practice for the Week

Here’s my experiment: once a day, I’ll do something only because it brings me joy. No screenshot, no post, no productivity hack. Just for me.

I invite you to try the same. Who knows — maybe we’ll rediscover the parts of ourselves that don’t need an audience.

Question for you:

What’s one thing you’d still do if the internet disappeared tomorrow.