What I’ve learned from a year of blogging
It’s been a year since I started this blog and published my first post. I remember how excited I felt. It was the first step toward writing more consistently and sharing my ideas with the world. The truth is, I’d been wanting to start blogging for a few years and simply couldn’t wait any longer. The need to express myself creatively and develop my voice in writing was stronger than the fear of being judged and ridiculed.
This blog is a space for me. Throughout the year, I’ve had many doubts about whether what I wanted to write about wasn’t a complete waste of time. But one truth has become very clear to me: I write primarily for myself. Today, I understand that it is worth writing about anything that moves me, causes me to reflect, or gives me a great deal of fun. Writing allows me to organize my thoughts, opinions, ideas, and articulate my yearnings. As much as I want others to read what I write and identify with it, whether or not this actually happens is of secondary importance. Here’s what I wrote a year ago when I was pondering the content of the future blog:
Being authentic is what brings people closer. I was a little hesitant to share my writing on this website. After all, it was intended to be my business card, a place where people interested in similar research could learn more about me. At the same time, I felt compelled to be seen from a personal perspective, as I am more than just a professional. Sharing my vulnerable side used to terrify me, but now I believe that honesty in expressing your feelings is essential for human connection. So I’m going to be even more courageous in sharing the things that didn’t work for me, my failures, and lessons learned.
It's all about the sense of agency. Today I can't imagine my functioning without writing and sharing what I’m learning on a regular basis. The act of hitting the Publish button is almost addicting. This is because working on posts gives me an amazing sense of control that I haven't felt before doing other things. I'm much more confident now and believe I have the strength to follow my own path rather than one dictated by others' expectations. Chase Jarvis knew the exact feeling when he wrote:
Beating perfectionism is a constant struggle. Importantly, writing helped me massively to let go of perfectionism. Although I'm still devoting too much time to each post, I've learned to accept posts that are not perfect but good enough. To challenge myself even more, I’m considering starting to post every day. Quantity rather than quality appears to be my ultimate remedy to perfectionism.
Thank you for reading, and may the coming year of writing be even more rewarding.
