There is nothing that kicks your butt in gear quite like being challenged to do something.
For those of you who aren’t aware, last month I opted into a challenge offered up to me to take part in something I’ve never done before. Being that this whole blogging business is a relatively new adventure for me, I thought accepting this challenge was the perfect way to really get this thing going.
The challenge? Myself and 14 other blogging geniuses, both outstandingly experienced and freshly domained, took on the task of writing every day for the month of December. Being that it is the holidays, however, we’ll let a couple days slide and only be expected to post 3 times between the 25th (otherwise known as Christmas) and the New Year.
I expected this endeavour to help me grow the content on my new blog, which it certainly has, but there are a few other bonus things I’ve learned along the way thus far.
What the Blogging Challenge has Taught Me
- I let a lot of opportunities slip away from me because I tend to let perfectionism take over and hold me back. You can read a whole post on my discovery of how I am learning to live with being Perfectly Imperfect here.
- I remember waaaaay more of what goes on in my life when I write it down. I already knew this as applicable to information, but I didn’t realize how much more memorable my life could be if I would only write down some thoughts every day.
- I have a LOT going on in my mind. Again, not exactly a newsflash, but now that I have an outlet for the many ideas and thoughts that cross my mind in a day, I am constantly thinking up and considering deeper what I know and how I feel about many new concepts. It’s a refreshing system of mind organizing, and it’s far more satisfying than a simple “status update”.
- Many times, I am asked the same or similar questions over and over again by many different people. Having a place to share what goes on in my life and knowledge I might have about certain things is such an easy way of directing the many questions to one answer that is consistent, more thoughtful and whole, and saves me a lot of time explaining.
- I like writing. I’ve always toyed with the idea that I could be a writer of sorts. I feel I have a pretty good handle on language and flow, and words and ideas are constantly pouring out of my brain. Taking part in pumping out a piece of writing every day has given me the confidence to really consider further some of my dreams, which very much include writing a children’s book. I still have a lot of hesitancy about how to go from idea to publication, but I’m at least mentally more prepared. My thoughtful hubby also gave me the gift of an on-line children’s story writing course for my birthday, that I need to spend more time delving into in order to see if we can clear up some of those hesitancies and make my dream a reality.
The month isn’t over yet! Actually, we’re only half way there. Come back tomorrow and see what’s next on my mental menu. I promise it won’t be leftovers. Or spam.
2 thoughts on “What I’ve Learned Through a Blogging Challenge”
This is so great! What you list as what this challenge has taught is very similar to me as well. There were so many ideas I was sitting on for later so this is helping me get them out. Happy to be sharing this crazy challenge with you!
Great post! I’m loving a lot of the same things, and the challenge is really flexing my writing muscles. Thanks for the mention, I love these round up posts. 🙂