A Fresh Start

I started blogging with Squarespace in 2010.  At the time, several of the podcasts I listened to had advertisements for the platform.  I took a chance and signed up.  Designing my blog was fun and Squarespace made it very easy.  The customer support helped me to understand things that I was unfamiliar with.  Back then, I didn't know what to talk about so I wrote about anything that came to mind.  I wasn't diligent about updating my blog and definitely didn't think about having a schedule for posting.  Not having a schedule for blogging was the least of my worries.  I had two big hurdles that stood in my way. 

Like many people, I struggle with procrastination and fear.  Sometimes I'm able to leap over these hurdles and keep making progress on my goal but many times they stop me in my tracks.  Thinking about my 2010 blog, procrastination kept encouraging me to put off writing until tomorrow or next week or next month.  When I finally did sit down to write something, fear made me question everything I typed.  Would anyone be interested?  Who am I to write anything worth reading? It didn't help that I started to hate how my blog looked.  Instead of focusing on writing and sharing my thoughts, I became distracted by how unhappy I was with the look of my blog.  Procrastination chimed in and told me that I needed to work on everything but a new blog entry.  Eventually, I stopped writing altogether.  

Lately, I've been thinking about how I spend my time and I realized that most of my time was spent doing things that weren't advancing or helping me in any way.  Sure, binge watching tv shows on Netflix (Daredevil, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black are awesome!) is fun but after doing so, what do I have to show for it?  Why was I choosing to watch tv shows and movies instead of spending time doing creative work?  I listen to a lot of podcasts and some of my favorites are from creatives and entrepreneurs.  Almost all of the hosts and interviewees spoke about ways to do the work that you are passionate about and fill you with joy.  A recurring sentiment throughout the episodes was that you must start somewhere.  If you want to be a writer, start writing.  If you want to be a photographer, take pictures.  Procrastination will make you think that you have to wait until you are faced with the perfect scenario to engage in your passion project.  Why wait? Why not start working on it today?  You can feel the excitement and joy your project brings you right now instead of delaying. 

After listening to these podcast episodes and reflecting on them, I knew that I must start making time for my creative pursuits.  I can't change the number of hours in a day, but I can change how I spend those hours.  I've started a 100-day project to improve my calligraphy.  To work on this project, I had to cut back on watching my nightly tv shows.  When I look at my writing samples, I feel excited because I can see improvement and I know that the more I practice the better I will become.  Ideally, I want to be able to incorporate some calligraphy on the envelopes I mail out for my wedding.  

So less time will be spent in a passive state of consuming tv shows and movies and more time will be spent engaging in my creative interests.  It took me some time but now I know what I want to use this blog for.  I want to share my adventures in actively purposing my creative interests.  Documenting my progress through writing will help keep me accountable and improve my writing skills.  Be sure to check back and read about my adventures in calligraphy, memory keeping, cooking and wedding planning.