Decisions, Decisions…

Tough Decisions Ahead Road SignLast night at the Sooke Writers’ Collective meeting, Doni Eve of Saseenos Communications gave a presentation on marketing, and one of the many insightful topics she touched on was blogging.

Regular blogging.

I really should do that, I thought, as I slid down in my chair. Maybe I’ll think more about it tomorrow.

This morning, to my surprise, the thought was still there.

In an effort to dissuade myself from committing to blogging regularly and then failing miserably as I have in the past, I told myself all my usual stories: no one cares about the disjointed thoughts that tumble through my head, I don’t have a lot of followers, blogging takes valuable time away from my other writing. But then I was struck by an important thought.

It’s good for me to think things through enough to write a coherent blog.

Well! What do I do with that? Commit to writing regularly? Heaven forbid! Maybe “regular” means once a year. It surely can’t be the once a week that Doni suggested. How does anyone do that? How can I do that? Can I seriously make myself write a new post every week, week after week after week after week…

That’s when I realized the flaw in my thinking. This wasn’t about making a decision every week. It was about making that decision ONCE, and then not deciding something different later on. Blogging can become a habit, just like brushing my dog or washing my dirty dishes. I don’t think through all the pros and cons every time the sink gets full. I don’t re-decide to brush the tangles from Cedar’s fur every two weeks, no matter how much she wishes I’d reconsider. I just do these things. The decision to have a brushed dog and at least one clean plate in the kitchen was made a long time ago.

MiracleAs of this moment, I don’t feel quite ready to make a decision to blog every week but I’m considering it, which means I’ll be tormenting myself by revisiting the question every week for a while. However, I feel I’ve learned something of value today. When I want to make a change, decide on the change once. Don’t revisit the decision time after time. Period.

And maybe after a few weeks of considering, I’ll find it’s just a lot easier to decide to blog regularly. Miracles do happen!

Posted in Miscellaneous, Ups and Downs, Writing Life.

4 Comments

  1. Bravo to commitment and intention. I am filled with them. I don’t always succeed but they stay in me and take root. I’ve learned not to punish myself when I fall short on commitments. I do my best. And when I don’t do my best – another part of me let’s me know (in a kind way). Thus the dance of intention and commitment.

    So after the blogging gets regular, what other form of social media will you explore? 🙂

  2. I’m hoping miracles do happen, Ang. What a concept: make a decision once, don’t revisit the decision time after time! Thank you for this.

  3. LOL–knowing you, I know committing and acting on decisions is not so much a “miracle” thing for you as it is (as you pointed out) a regular habit. I’m excited that you recognized you can make a decision to blog, too. Very cool. And kinda funny . . . my Terrace Standard column this month was about a sort of similar realization. I will post in on my blog soon.

    Looking forward to next week’s post already. 🙂

  4. Thank you, Barb!

    Deb, if I commit to blogging here, then next maybe I’ll commit to blogging at my other author site, angeladorsey.com. I did one post there a couple of months ago, but before that, it was last June! Terrible I know.

    I’m looking forward to reading your blog post, Ev! And thanks for your faith in me for eventually making a firm commitment to blogging. It’s not that I don’t have plenty to say. It’s just that I’ve doubted that anyone wants to read it – but then if they don’t, that’s okay. It shouldn’t stop me from getting value from the blogging experience myself. 🙂

Comments are closed.