WIP Is Sacred

There is a space between the first spark of an idea and its final, public form a sacred, silent space. In that space lives the work-in-progress. The story still shaping itself. The voice still warming up. The creator still learning how to say what needs to be said. It is tender, unformed, and yet incredibly powerful. And because of that, it demands respect, not exposure.

Recently, I shared something personal and unfinished, the first chapter of my book. It was a quiet act of trust, not performance. I handed it to someone I love and assumed would guard it the way I had been guarding it myself with patience, with reverence. Instead, I found out that lines from that chapter were being quoted to friends, casually, as if they were already public property. And suddenly, I felt stripped of something intimate. Something not yet ready to meet the world.

This wasn’t about someone trying to hurt me. This was about someone not understanding the weight of what they held. The chapter wasn’t just a collection of words it was a reflection of where I was, emotionally and mentally. A place I hadn’t even fully processed myself. And when it left my hands, I expected it would be handled with care, kept in a vault of quiet support. That’s what work-in-progress needs, not judgment, not applause, just space to breathe.

Work-in-progress is not weakness. It is a declaration of movement. Of transformation. It is a promise being shaped, not a finished product being sold. And when someone shares that they are in the middle of something whether it’s a course, a goal, a healing journey, or a creative project it is not an invitation for commentary or distribution. It is an invitation for understanding.

What makes this harder is that I am someone who is incredibly mindful of words. I believe words carry weight. I believe that a commitment, when spoken, becomes a contract emotionally, ethically, and even spiritually. Because I live by the belief that promises are not meant to be convenient, they are meant to be honored.

And in the same way, when my own sacred work-in-progress is shared before it’s ready, it feels like a breach of emotional trust. Not because I’m embarrassed by the work but because it wasn’t done becoming. It’s like inviting someone to see the frame of a house and having them review the interior design. It’s out of sync. It’s premature.

This isn’t just about writing. It’s about anything in the process of becoming your fitness journey, your healing, your recovery, your startup, your vision. The world has grown too comfortable with sharing, posting, announcing. But not everything needs to be broadcasted before it’s baked. Sometimes silence is not secrecy. It’s sacredness.

So, here’s my gentle but firm truth, if someone trusts you with their WIP respect it. Don’t quote it. Don’t post it. Don’t repeat it. Hold it the way you’d hold a seed that hasn’t yet seen sunlight. Quietly. Carefully. With the understanding that this is not just information it’s transformation in motion.

For creators like me, the becoming is where the magic lives. And that kind of magic needs space. Not a spotlight. Not a mic. Just a quiet corner where it can stretch, stumble, and then finally, rise.

WIP is sacred. Treat it that way.