How to Write a Blog- Part IV
Let’s review.
The four reasons for not blogging are-
I don’t know what to write about/I have nothing to write about.
Absolutely nothing happened, I did nothing, there’s just nothing to write about.
I’m too busy.
I have nothing positive to write about.
Number four is broken down into two justifications;
a) Liken this to “once, long ago, I wrote a blog and I felt like I got in trouble for being honest. Now I shy away from writing anything”. This was the focus of Part III.
And now, the second justification;
b) There are some big emotions going on (a lot or a little, big is big), lots of negativity, and I’m not ready to “get over it”. Therefore, I can’t write in a constructive way.
That’s totally okay. We’ve all been there. You’re in the sulking stage, which I personally believe is a legitimate place to be, we all have to pass through it when something goes awry. But, we cannot stay there. To stay in this stage is only damaging to ourselves and detrimental to our overall goals. And I don’t care what goal you want to insert here, owning doggies or achieving mastery in Kung Fu. To stay in this stage is detrimental to us.
The solution is the same as Part III.
This place provides us the best reason to write a blog. It allows us to voice our emotions, tell our side, and then work through it all to a place where we can benefit from the experience. How, you might say. Well, let me tell you a story.
Last year, actually the past three years, have been exceptionally difficult for me. Lots of personal problems, the death of four family pets, an autism diagnosis, the diagnosis and ultimate death of my loving mother, the diagnosis and ultimate death of my father, planning funerals, selling off the farm, and to top it all off, estrangement from my brother.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Oh, add in taking over a school from someone who is so far above my level that it didn’t seem crazy, it seemed ludicrous. Yeah, add that expectation in there.
Anyways how, pray tell, do you “benefit” from all of that? I’ll focus on the ongoing estrangement between my brother and I. The only surviving member of my original nuclear family. Specifically after my mother told me to never let anything get between us, as she lie on her deathbed.
Well, it’s not good that we’re not talking. No positive spin there. Except, I learned what I am capable of, the empathy I am capable of, the weight I can carry without crumbling and what I will and will not tolerate in my life. (Side note, I never thought I was particularly empathetic. At least, I lack the ability to outwardly show it in a meaningful manner.)
All of which led me to believe in myself. And look, SRKF is still alive, a year later, in my care. I don’t think I could have I would have thought I was capable of it. And granted, it’s been rough. There are potholes the size of Denmark that have developed under my nose. But, I can proudly say that the school survives. I survived, I thrived, and I learned.
You can learn from anything, if you allow yourself to.
I have not “gotten over it”, hence the ongoing distance between my brother and myself. But, although I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel, I have confidence enough in myself to recognize that it will be there, when I choose to make it so. I recognize the immense stress he was/is under, and although I will not tolerate some things, I do have empathy for him.
There you go. I just wrote a blog, even in the sulky, everything is wrong and nothing is good stage. Added to that, I used my negative space in a positive manner, in hopes of providing some motivation and clarity to those of you who find yourself stuck.
So, to address the name of this series, the question everyone has in their mind; How do you write a blog?
Just do it.