I started blogging back in July of this year. At the time, it represented a huge risk for me. I wasn't afraid of putting my ideas out there. Honestly, I've probably been closer to arrogance than humility when it comes to my own ideas. Perhaps a better way to say it is I usually think my ideas are pretty darn good. The risk for me in starting a blog wasn't ideas, it was my pitiful command of the English language, particularly those pesky grammar rules. Comma's, semi-colon's (whatever they are) and the like really intimidate me. I was worried about how the ideas I was so comfortable sharing face to face would translate to written expression.
I'm now 6 months into the journey. I'm not sure that I've gotten my grammar perfect in each post, but with a little help from Grammarly, my posts at least read better than trying to talk with a mouth full of peanut butter. I've learned a lot on this journey but perhaps the biggest thing I've learned is that you have to believe in yourself outside of yourself; in other words, many of your greatest strengths lay beyond the realm of how you're typically viewed and what you do for a living. I'm an educator. Education is what I do and it's what the majority of the people who "know me" or "know of me" affiliate with. What I'm learning as I process my thoughts and ideas through this blog is that education is a long way from what defines me, As an educator, there are several transferable skills and attributes I possess that will help me accomplish some of greatest dreams. You see, being an educator is just one small component of who I am even though it's the lens that most people view me through. I'm learning to recognize and play-off of all my strengths. The mere act of blogging has gotten me to believe in myself outside of myself. It's given me greater confidence not just in my own abilities, but in the belief that I can change the world, be a leader of positive change. I'm going to start a non-profit organization to benefit families adopting children and finish writing a book during 2018; two things I've always dreamed of doing but never gotten of the ground with until now. Who knows, both may fail, both may succeed wildly or, as is often the case, reality may settle right in between the two. I have no publisher lined up for my book and I have only a very small base established for my non-profit but I'm not worried or afraid. I believe in myself and I know that every flood started with a drop of rain. I don't know what your next steps are for 2018 but if you're not blogging, I would highly encourage you to start. Not only do you have nothing to lose, you have something to contribute and everything to gain. If we're going to innovate and improve our world, we need you to believe in yourself outside of yourself.
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January 2020
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