Good morning. This is just a quick post, not so much about yoga in particular, but in response to comments that I have received from a number of people about blogging, and sharing their thoughts about the fears and roadblocks that can be associated with writing. I wanted to share my experience so far, in the hopes that it will be helpful for some of you in terms of pursuing your own writing. And even though this will be related to blogging, really these ideas relate to any dream or endeavor one might have that they feel hesitant to embrace. In the end, whether we take that leap or stay in one place, can likely depend in large part on fear.
Putting yourself out there … not easy. Making the decision to put yourself out there is, in my opinion, even harder. The good news though, is that once you make the choice to go for it, it truly does get easier from there. I think the hardest part is deciding which path you are going to go down.
I thought about the idea of blogging with regards to the training probably two months before the class. When I first thought about it, it sounded like a sound idea, something that people could relate to and hopefully be inspired by, a subject that I imagined would have lots of things to write about, new experiences, new ideas to share, and there was a built-in ending. That built-in escape hatch might have been the deciding factor for me.
If the blog was not going well, then all I had to do was finish it out (how hard could that be for six weeks) and then take my bow, pull on my ear (Carole) and stage left. I’m outta here. The worst-case scenario, once I really broke it down, was not all that awful. So my ego would be a little scraped and bruised if it didn’t go well, that was not worth keeping myself from something I’d been wanting to try. It’s not like a family member becoming sick or losing your home or some other true tragedy befalling you.
It would be a short, very short period of time that I might be a little embarrassed when I saw my friends and the subject came up about my blog (insert your book/online dating experience/backpack trip/job interview, whatever it is you are thinking about but having trouble actually executing) I would just have to acknowledge it didn’t really work out. (Uhhhh, next?)
And really, how long could that conversation last, anyway? Let’s face it, in this fast-paced world, people are not hanging on to your drama very long, as they have plenty of their own to focus on. But this is hindsight, so let me go back to the weeks before I made my choice.
Once I had the idea, I basically looked her over, polished her up a bit, liked what I saw, and then shoved her as far to the back of my mind as I possibly could. There she stayed until about ten days before the class, when it was time to decide if I was brave enough to try this. Seriously, my stomach turned every time I thought about it, and for about three days in a row, I did my Scarlett Ohara impression. There would be time to think about it again tomorrow. When I was down to about a week, I told myself I did not have to do it, and that the class would be hard enough as it was, so why put that extra pressure on myself. (Boy, is that ever a cop out. But if that’s what you want to do, okay then.)
Another day passed, and I decided that I was down to the wire, and would need to make a choice. That night we brought home some Chinese takeout, (you know where I’m going with this) and my fortune cookie said “take advantage of an upcoming opportunity.” I put the little fortune on my computer screen in the lower left corner, and the next day with Rick’s encouragement, I sat down at the computer and drafted my first blog post.
Was it hard to press send a few days later, hell yes, it was. But here I am 13 posts later, on such a high (of course, that might also be due to all the deep breathing I’m doing) and I’m just so thankful I took the chance.
To sum it up, I would say this. Whatever your dream is, listen to that inner voice with regard to the logistics like good idea, bad idea, tweaks, etc. If you are thinking about writing, know there will be an audience if you bring your authentic voice to your writing, whatever that is. If you are invested and excited about your idea, trust me, there are people out there waiting to hear from YOU.
Do not listen to the inner voice, if at all possible, when it’s scaring the shit out of you. If you think your idea/dream/endeavor is sound, then figure out your escape plan, picture the worst-case scenario and problem solve how you will get through that. Lastly surround yourself with people who will encourage your dream, and offer positive support. And of course, get some Chinese takeout, if possible.
And then push SEND.
Namaste
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