Here’s the process

I feel like knowing I have to contribute something everyday makes me a little more alert, curious and introspective but in the best possible way.

I’m not just ruminating and pondering over things for my own sake but to catch the spark of what is worth sharing.

I have specific times of my day where writing has been ingrained into my physiology where I am able to write hundreds of words with ease.

It doesn’t feel like effort, it could be compared to pouring water from a teapot into a cup, or perhaps water down a hill.

And so I’m learning to make the most of my peak writing times so when I go to actually schedule my posts all I have to do is edit for spelling, grammar and clarity and pick what to post when.

My aim is to batch schedule posts at the weekend which means I still have time to live my life without worrying what to post each day so that I’m open to seeing and allowing my curiosity to be piqued.

Consistency, commitment and a lack of heart

There’s a line from an oasis song that goes ‘you can’t get a life if your hearts not in it” It’s funny how a moody 90s band can just totally get you.

I’ve been thinking about how sometimes it’s easy to create things from a place of heart and feeling but other days not so much.

But then I thought, is it always necessary?

Does everything that you do have to be you pouring out from your core?

Or can you just write, create and express without doing so.

I’ve managed to remain consistent and committed to blogging daily which has always been my goal and will always be my focus.

However, I never considered how I would feel towards the things I’d written or if I’d be content with a lack of heart in the words I was sharing.

3 Months of daily blogging!

Time has flown by and one thing that I can tell you about daily blogging is that it’s not as difficult as I thought it would be.

The act of coming up with something to write every single day and sharing it is more enjoyable than challenging.

I thought I’d get ‘writers block’ but any time I felt stuck for what to write I just tapped into my inner monologue. I’d think about something interesting that had happened recently, what had I learnt or experienced.

Some days I’d be really pleased with what I’d written and other days I’d click publish knowing that it was not my best work.

But it’s unrealistic to expect that everything I write will feel like the best thing that I’ve ever written, that’s something pretty useful that I’m learning on my writer journey.

Over the past 3 months, I missed one day of blogging and instead of berating myself I just posted twice the next day. Through that I learnt to not be so hard on myself with this daily blogging thing.

I love that I’m writing more and sharing more because as a result of it I’m thinking differently and even though this isn’t as challenging as I thought it would be there is some level of challenge involved.

For me, it’s that challenge of committing. I’m an ideas person and I get excited by new things. In the past my excitement has run out rather quickly and I call it quits and just move onto something else.

But I think that part of me has changed as this is post #90 and I’m still excited about this blog.

Everyday I give myself the opportunity to do something I love and share it.

What would Seth Godin say?

I was getting ready for work this morning and suddenly stopped as I realised that I had not uploaded a blog post the day before.

Funnily enough a few days ago I was writing about how I’d feel if I missed a day but surprisingly I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would have.

Part of me does feel like I’ve fallen short of my own expectations however, I also have to acknowledge the fact that my world did not implode or explode. The world has not (and will not ever) come to a stand still because I forgot to post on my blog.

Part of me even thought ‘What would Seth say?’ and I think he’s just say it’s okay you can post twice today instead and that the only person really affected was me but also that in the grand scheme of things this isn’t something to dwell on.

I suppose the general point I wanted to make today was that, some things aren’t as bad as you think they’ll be.

But I will be posting again today so keep your eyes peeled.

More of the same

A few days ago I had this idea to delve into a topic totally unlike anything I have written about before.

I had drafted a post on gender.

I thought it would be good to try writing something new but also this particular topic has been on my mind for a while.

Then just days later I realised that what I had written didn’t really belong here.

I think that perhaps I was just trying to come too far out of my usual writing space.

As much as it’s good to try new things I think it’s also important to recognise that you don’t have to share every thoughts/opinions/musings on every topic that you think about.

So expect to see more of the same stuff from me about experiences, mindset, feelings and life.

When things don’t go to plan

It’s impossible to be prepared for every possible life circumstance that can arise. We don’t plan for people being unwell, long’term unemployment, falling into a depression, someone stealing your bag etc.

But the more I experience different aspects of life I’m learning to be okay with things that happen.

I remember years ago writing the words ‘I can’t control the the things that are out of my control.’

It’s pretty obvious when you think about it and despite knowing that we can’t control everything that happens we often end up still feeling this sense of helplessness.

Around 6 months ago someone stole my bag and I felt helpless but also annoyed. Some stranger now had the lip gloss I’d bought less than a week ago along with my journal.

Whoever took my bag probably hoped to steal something a little more significant so no doubt they were disappointed with what they found as 2 days later my bag was found on the street.

Things didn’t go to plan for them either.

Less Seth, More me

I first came across Seths blog around 5 years ago and I remember thinking that I’d never be able to daily blog.

It amazed me that he was able to not only have something to post daily but something good.
I’d read his posts and be inspired or find myself reflecting on aspects of my own life.
At that time in my life I held the belief that some people were just better at things than others.

A couple of years later I found myself daily blogging for a month or so but the content was lifestyle/fashion based and in all honesty I didn’t have much going on in my life so it was easy to spend my days planning, writing and taking photos.

Fast forward a couple more years to the last few months of 2018 and I had so much going on that I knew I needed something challenging yet fun that was just for me.

I decided I would start a daily blog in 2019. Some may say that a new blog would just be more work on my plate but I knew it was what I needed.

When I started I had this idea of my blog being like Seths. He has this distinct way of writing that is so enjoyable that you don’t mind getting to read his words every single day, in fact you almost feel lucky to have the opportunity.

I wanted my words to have that kind of impact and I thought I needed to be more Seth when I wrote things or I’d ask myself how would Seth word this.

But then I realised I was taking away the opportunity for me to discover my own way of writing.

So now I’m being less Seth, more me.

And so far that might mean longer posts, ideas that aren’t concise and introducing concepts that nobody has heard of but that’s all just part of the process as we all have to start from somewhere.