@TuesdayPause | #GoDiscover post by Kristin. Today’s post is something different—no destination, no interesting local discovery, no encouragement to go and engage in what surrounds you. No, today I just share my own reflection on this endeavor itself. Today, I pause.
I must admit, often I’m in sweats or jammies when I write my blog posts.
I began Tuesday Pause as a soft-launch in September of 2016, looking forward to my approaching empty-nester status, when I planned to officially kick-off the blog with weekly posts. For those of you that read me consistently, you know that I have not achieved that goal. Even though our youngest flew the coop this past August, I have yet to increase my regularity with my blog. (That is until last week.)
Why?
While I’ve experienced a number of stumbling blocks, the primary one has been simple fear. Fear of putting myself out there; fear that I’m in over my head, there’s just too much to learn; fear of committing to scheduled posts; fear of failure.
Why on earth would I share this?
For starters, because it’s true. I believe the only way to make this blog work, or for me to even want to put time into it, is if I am willing to be honest and real…with myself…with you.
I’ve always told my kids that when something scares you, the best way to overcome it is a two-fold process:
- Think of the worst thing that could happen. (Case in point—nobody reads my blog, or worse, people do and find it boring, irrelevant, lame.)
- If the worst-case scenario reveals that your stumbling block is nothing more than a possible blow to your personal pride or ego, then the solution is to go straight at it.
Tackle it head on. Go and do, or try to do, that which intimidates you.
Don’t try to avoid it, work around it, or abandon it—all natural responses—because the fear will never dissipate that way.
This is precisely what I did all though college. For some reason, I had a fear of writing (ironic, I know…shows God has a sense of humor…and patience). How did I respond to that fear? I purposefully avoided classes where I would be required to write. I regret that now.
Failure doesn’t harm you; it helps you grow. Fear of failure harms you! Because it keeps you from entering into growth experiences. You’ll never succeed, and see what you’re capable of, if fear bars the door. You’ll also never experience the resiliency that comes if, or when, things don’t turn out as planned, if you never cross that threshold to begin with.
Yes, as I sit here, I am indeed intimidated. This project called Tuesday Pause may indeed fail; but, then again, it might succeed. Regardless, I can’t seem to get my own parental voice out of my head, so I’ve determined to follow my own advice, and plow on. And, isn’t that success in itself!
Yes, I have decided that I will continue this blog, but I will only put out two scheduled posts a month (2nd and 4th Tuesdays* beginning in February), at least for now. This will give me some breathing room to climb that mountain called learning curve—nicknamed “social media” for me. If an extra story pops that I’d like to share between scheduled posts due to timeliness, or other, factors (limited engagement events, for example), I’ll simply add them in, ad hoc.
For those who were hoping to hear about a destination today, I offer my apologies. This has been a personal #TakeTime post. Maybe it will encourage you to pause—to #TakeTime today, or when it suits you—and ask yourself why you do, or don’t do, the things you do each day.
Perhaps you’ll discover, like I did, that the motivation behind it all isn’t actually what you thought? Not to beat yourself up…just to recognize it, and then, perhaps, to be inspired to do something about it. I can only say that it has helped me to pause and consider these things…
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Things to Know Before You Go:
Destination: Lord knows…just start down the path
Cost: perhaps your pride or ego
Things to take along (TP’s Tips): courage, perseverance, faith