A few weeks ago, I joined AJ Juliani's blog challenge. My goal is to write 200 words a day and post two posts a week for the next 30 days. So far I've wrote a little but haven't posted at all. I've noticed my blogging as a whole has gone down over the last several months. I can think of plenty of reasons as to why I haven't, but the truth is it comes down to two things: TIME and FEAR. Between a full time job, a family with two young children, and life itself, time is tight. The second, and the heart of it, is anxiety from fear. Fear that no one cares, fear of failure, fear that I myself may not be impressed with it, fear it won't be "perfect." (I continue to remind myself of the words of Kevin Honeycutt "perfection is the enemy of done.")
As I was thinking about why I haven't met my blogging goal, of course the first excuse I want to make is I just don't have time. This excuse makes me recall a TED talk by Laura Vanderkam called How to Gain Control of Your Free Time. Basically, she says we have time for what we make time for. We make time for what's important to us. Blogging and sharing my story and the story of others is important to me, the problem is I'm not making it a priority. In her talk she states, "Time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it. Every minute [you] spend is your choice." If I really want to blog, I have to make the time for it.
The second part is the anxiety that comes from putting myself out there. Even though I have been blogging for a few years, I still over analyze what I should blog about and how I should organize it. It also never fails that I find an embarrassing typo as soon as I hit publish. This fear and anxiety is what stops me. After reading blog posts on fear from John Spencer, AJ Juliani, and a motivating email from fellow coach Leah O'Donnell, I realize that I'm not alone and when I don't share, I'm not helping anyone. If I take the leap and put it out there, it will motivate someone.
So, I have decided to make my one word for this year LEAP. Take the plunge, just do it, don't hold back, and DON'T let other's opinions stop me. Every time I question my actions or start to feel fear creep in, I need to remember to take that LEAP and stop holding myself back, not just with blogging, but all my priorities.
