Phil Wayne

My Challenge this week

06 Jul 2020

Hello mad-readers from all over the world,

A baby step ?

I have yet another announcement to make today. I have been thinking about committing more time to this blog for a few weeks and I have finally decided to do it. As I am a fervent believer in small steps, I have decided to first be more involved this week.

My challenge will simply be to publish one post a day for every week day. Some may call it a tiny step, rather than a small one, but everyone needs to begin somewhere and move forward at their own pace.

Not so small after all

If I were comparing myself to other bloggers who have a much broader audience than me, it would probably be a laughable challenge. I am not, however, and I encourage every one writing online or just publishing content to stop comparing themselves to others. That's not a healthy way of living. No, a good way of bettering oneself is to compare yourself to yourself.

Don't you find it ridiculous to compare yourself to others anyway ? Wouldn't you find it ridiculous if the student sitting next to you in the classroom was copying the content of the student next to him when they actually aren't taking the same exam ? I would. All our lives might be similar in some ways, but we still are very different. And for this our decisions are going to be different, and so will our challenges.

All that to say that everyone gets better at their own pace. Last month, I wasn't very active on this blog, so an entire week of blogging will be a major improvement.

What I realized blogging is

I didn't realize promoting your site was so important when I published my first few posts. I only thought I was going to throw my texts out there and check out whether they had any success.

If I had been told self-promotion took so much space in the life of a blogger, I might even have seen it as a problem. Now I rather see it as an opportunity. Actually, I am striving to change my mindset and see all issues I am dealing with as opportunities to grow. I've had a growth mindset for many years but this is a life changer. I am not saying I will see all problems as miracles from one day to the next but it's the long-term goal.

Today, I see self-promotion as an opportunity to meet great people who spend hours doing the same activity as I am. Isn't it the best opportunity to learn, and help others learn too then ?

In a few bullet points, I'd sum up blogging like this :

  • Listing ideas
  • Picking an idea + writing a blog post with it
  • Proofreading / Polishing your work as long as necessary
  • Publishing
  • Checking out other's blogs, spending time helping them grow as much as they're helping you/me grow.

Do stats matter ?

Yes, but not so much. I recently read that you should write the best content you can offer whether you have one person reading you or one million. It's all a matter of mindset. If you believe you are successful on the path you've chosen, then you are.

I talked about success in more details in that post, by the way : https://madlibrarianwriting.poetry.blog/2020/06/24/what-is-success/

Stats illustrate your evolution and they can be motivating, but they should not become the end goal. Just like money shouldn't be. Stats and money are but the means to a much more honorable end, in my opinion : sharing ideas, having fun today and, hopefully, tomorrow.

What's your take on this ?

As usual, if you liked this article, feel free to like, comment, and/or subscribe (if you didn't, feel free not to). I'd be curious to read your opinion in the comments, if you have anything to share.

Wishing you a great day,

Phil.

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