A year ago I launched my website and Blog, Life Lessons with Rose. It was an exciting next step for me, one (of many) that proved my business was a reality; I existed in the digital world!
Blogging has been quite an experience. I learned that I actually love to write. This coming from the girl that had anxiety around writing for years, throughout college and graduate school. The anxiety all started when my 9th grade English teacher publicly criticized my writing in-front of the entire class. I was mortified and, ironically, wrote in my journal how my dream of being a writer died that day.
I considered starting a blog over six years ago. It took me five years to confront the tension and fear surrounding my own writing so that I felt capable of blogging. Sure I might never write like Barbara Kingsolver or Chiam Potok (two of my all-time favorite authors during my formative teenage years) but I have my own unique voice and off-the-wall commentary to share. Conquer anxiety around writing, check.
That’s not to say I don’t get nervous every time I post a blog, I do. What I’ve found is that while the ideas, and words may flow easily from my mind through my fingers, latent fears still hold me back. I’ve skipped posting a new blog on busy weeks not because I didn’t have anything written but because I didn’t have the confidence to share it with you. It’s tough putting yourself out there for the world to judge and critique, but it’s necessary. Learning to separate my self-image from my writing is a continual process.
As I work on my blog I’m often reminded of how one of my strengths quickly turns into a weakness; I’m a big picture thinker. I not only see how things are interconnected, I’m not satisfied until I explore every facet, nock and cranny that bears some sort of relevance to the topic at hand. In short, I dream big, have a hard time staying focussed and don’t always get to “my point.”
I still have a copy of this memorable term paper!
While blogging over the last year I’ve had many flashbacks to a college experience. My Professor encouragingly said about a term paper I was working on, “Ariana, you’re ideas are cutting edge, but you have about 9 thesis statements here. Pick one and focus on it.”
I heard her advice, and I tried to follow it….but I couldn’t ignore my innate curiosity to understand everything that impacted Shamanism in Nepal. I ended up with a 19 page (double spaced) term paper that cited 21 different sources (that’s an average of 1.1 bibliographic sources per page, only slightly absurd). But I swear, it was all relevant!
I feel that my blog is much like that term paper. Largely inspired by a desire to make sense of my own experiences and curiosity about the world. Loosely focussed on the intersection of personal mastery and business. Drawing on a selection of the diverse books and articles I’ve read. Also similar to my school days, I’m consistently quirky with an unpredictability that drives even me a little nutty sometimes.
But alas, despite all the ups and downs it’s been a worthwhile journey that I want to celebrate. Over the last year I have posted a total of 79 blogs (this is my 80th). My most popular blog was “Admirables: Dani Grant” My most frequently used tags are: Personal Mastery, and Business (hey maybe I’m more focussed than I give myself credit!). And my most commented on post was “From Participant to Presenter – Reflections From TEDx FoCo ‘The Art of Inspiration.’”
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank those that have read my online ranting. There are 66 people currently subscribed to my blog. And while I don’t think I have anything particularly new or original to say, my hope is that I provide a spark of inspiration and a pinch of perspective that encourages forward progress on your own journey.
