Before the recent New Year I had become a bit slothful with my blogs. I still had/have plenty of ideas but as no one was checking out my blog site except one faithful reader, (Thanks Lynx) and she then sporadic too, I also became erratic in my postings. To the point that I had hardly posted much at all during November and December. At that point I was even thinking of stopping the site altogether as no one was really reading them anyway. But as I still had a few friends that I was e-mailing the blogs to, and they seemed to appreciate them, I decided to continue on and in fact to try and get most of my ideas down on the computer and try and get back to one a day, without just “Making Sausages”. {See that blog, if you don’t understand.}
However a funny thing happened when I decided to write anyway and started posting again. I found much to my surprise and great encouragement, that in the meantime a few others had begun accessing the site and had been looking at a number of my older Blogs too. So that too encouraged me greatly to try and get back to one a day (when I can), even if it may be months (or longer) before people do look at them.
What about you too? Do you sometimes get discouraged or disillusioned, if it seems no one is using or appreciating your work? If so, don’t let your discouragement get the better of you and quit. No, if you believe in what you are doing, just keep at it, and leave something behind for others yet to come.
Like my blogs, most of the things we do, remain behind, for others to “find” or use later. So even if what you are doing doesn’t seem to be needed or appreciated at this time, keep at it as long as you believe it is worthy of doing.
Now I am not looking for encouragement here, but I do urge you to look at the things others do, that you use, and I also humbly suggest that you consider giving them some encouragement too, if what they are doing or had done, is of benefit to you. I am not talking of false encouragement here, but if you have really benefited from something someone else has done, tell him or her so. Because not everyone is self confident enough in what they do to carry on with out some sign that what they are doing, is being positively received and appreciated. Your word of encouragement may be the difference between them continuing on or not?
So looking around you now, who should you compliment or thank, this week, or better still, today?
2 comments:
Here's a tip I was given, and I'll pass on.
You're not writing this blog for everyone else. You write it for you, it's YOUR ideas. Whether you have 1 reader or 1 million readers isn't the point. And besides, not everyone who reads comments. I don't even all the time. BUT as long as it's what you like, and you enjoy doing it, by all means DO IT. The rest will come around, or they won't. But your ideas will remain in the blogosphere long after you leave it. Enjoy what you do, and know those of us who read it enjoy it too.
I used to fret time and time again about no one reading my blogs, first on MSN then on Yahoo. That's why both of them no longer exist. No one wanted my jokes, and no one liked my politics. So I shut them down. My problem was that I was too focused on who I was trying to get to read.
When I opened my google blog, none of my friends thought I'd keep it either. But I made a promise to myself that it'd be what I wanted, not what anyone who claimed to be my friend wanted it to be. I have a couple people from back then that drop by now and then, but my blog friend circle is totally different, and I love it, because they read because they like what I have to say, or at least are curious as to what I'm up to and/or rambling about. But it's MY blog. If I want a team blog, I can set one up. But my blog is MY blog, and your blog is YOUR blog, not mine, even though I love it, so much that if I haven't read any blogs in a few days, yours is one of the first I check up on (along with Kahless, Katy, and Tom, among others). There's a reason, and it's not just because we agree a lot. It's because you speak your mind, and it's what YOU want to talk about.
So keep on blogging my friend, and hug that lucky woman of yours for me. And remember, only you know what's in that noggin, and anyone that claims that they know needs to be given a swift kick! It's your head, your blog, and your corner of this vast world we call the internet.
Thanks for the encouragement Lynx. It is much appreciated but actually a little late as I had already come to the same conclusions that you stated and was writing that blog, not for me, but for anyone else out there that might be in the same boat.
Part of my problem has been that I was never a good writer and my spelling was atrocious, (& I praise the people who came up with Spell-check. I really do!) However I am starting to get more comfortable in my writing, even I still find it an effort especially as I only type with two fingers. But I had resolved before I wrote that blog that I was going to continue anyway, but it is still nice when you get some response from the main audience that you are writing for.
But at least now I know it is worth the effort and time. Thanks again for all your positive comments. You have never been short on them. Thanks.
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