Since starting my blog, in March 2017 during graduate school, I’ve found it fun and enticing, a little. Here is a list of things I wish I knew, did, and practiced before starting my blog.
What I wish I knew about blogging before I started
I’ve taught myself how to use page builders, brand myself, and create stunning graphic design images including a logo with the help of some friends. I’ve learned numerous things about myself, writing and blogging in the past year.
These 5 are the most important.
1. Your voice is unique
What I wish I knew in August, when I started to think of posting everyday, and working on why I am writing, I would doubt myself. I doubted my voice, and whether those around me wanted to hear what I had to say.
The fear of judgment widely known within society, as the legal system, education system, and political system require judgments of authority toward others in both positive and negative ways, as a result, our society is conditioned to believe that they are going to be judged in a harsh way for being themselves.
What I’ve learned through blogging, is that everyone has this fear, it’s a human fear. The only wisdom we can take from fear is the fear of limitation. We can’t avoid being judged, just run right into the judgement zone and laugh it off as the limitations of others being projected onto our truth.
Live your truth, use your YOU-nique voice.
2. Your voice is needed
Along with how younique your voice is, your voice is needed!
Sometimes I wish I knew this when I started, and didn’t stop writing for 3 months.
Blogging is giving you a platform to showcase your truest self. Become who you are meant to be and share the journey towards your dreams with others.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint, go slowly, and take breaks when you need.
3. It’s ok to miss some days
Once I started creating a content calendar and posting on weekdays, I would put everything I had into writing a post for that day, and make sure that it got done.
Reflecting on that now, I wish I knew I could skip a day and wouldn’t disappoint anyone, I was using blogging as a means of calming myself and I realize now that it shouldn’t be only a method of calming myself, but a place to share my true wisdom.
4. It’s not all serious, aim to have fun!
One of the things I conflict with in real jobs is the need to be professional and serious. This is the perfect space for fun!
Life is meant to be fun! Enjoy the journey you’re running so hard towards by slowing down and smelling the flowers of fun before continuing the daily grind of a real job.
5. Be broad, but also narrow
I’ve worked with several business coaches, and only one of them kept pushing me to niche down. I wondered where philosophy is a niche, and couldn’t find that, as my coach was unaware of how philosophy could be a niche.
I disregarded her advice, and listened to myself, kept writing about philosophy and the way I see things, and found that Gary Vee, a YouTube guru in the entrepreneurial world, says the niche is you.
Business isn’t the end game, optimism, sharing positivity, and sharing how you got from A to B is the goal. Why? because those are the questions people are asking, and if philosophy is useful for anything, it’s useful for finding your drive to push you forward into who you are becoming.
Remember…
The best wisdom I can share with you about blogging, is to blog from the heart! Share your wisdom with others and avoid giving in to the negative Nelly’s in your life.
When I wrote my blogging philosophy, I hadn’t been writing for more than a couple months. I’d also stopped writing for two months and had a family member pass away before the new year.
Sharing this allowed me to understand what I wish I knew about myself before I started and how to build my own resiliency toward keeping the momentum of blogging, despite my personal life being hectic and crazy.
All things aside, as a teacher, I know that learning never ends, and though I wish I knew these before I started, I know them now.
I hope you learned something from reading this! Let me know with a comment!
With love and light,
~~ stay true, stay weird ~~
~~ Kristi