Blogging through fear
The following is a discussion board that I wrote for a class assignment a couple of months ago, while finishing my second masters degree. It gives a little insight as to why I have not been posting… that and some medical stuff going on. I decided posting the explanation here shows an openness. If part of my biggest fear is making myself vulnerable, in making my blog successful again, then I might as well toss this out and jump in. I can fear being vulnerable and freeze up -OR- I can jump in and face my fears. I will admit that I did not take the action step while we were still in the college semester, but I got some medical news that took a little time to digest and I was still busy with school. Now, I am ready to begin writing again.
For years, I have heard the words to Zach Williams’s song, “Fear is a Liar,” and knew they were true; however, I did not take them to heart. I still let fear get the best of me. In Isaiah 41:10, it tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you.” From 2010 to 2014, I had a successful blog that had 1.6 million visitors. After I received my Masters in Teaching, I stupidly gave up my blog. I knew that I would not have time for it, which was true. I originally tried to get my blog back in 2015, but my domain had been ransomed. In 2017, I was able to successfully get my blog back. However, other things happened in life and instead of writing with confidence, I was plagued with a writer’s block of sorts. Many ideas flowed through my head, sometimes full articles, but I was scared to touch the keyboard and put them out to the world. I was scared to take a chance. I was scared to let myself be seen. If I let people see me, then there was more chance of people harming me. The world of blogging had also changed and is now inundated with writers. Why would someone choose to read my blog?
This year, I wanted to get my blog back up. My blog is Family, Food, & Frolic. Its themes are food, travel, and lifestyle. Since I moved to Orlando (two miles from Walt Disney World) for the final year of my masters degree, I live in a location with plenty of content inspiration. However, that fear got in the way. I had the convenient excuse that I was too busy with school… even when I was not. This whole COVID-19 thing came up, my distraction to balance schoolwork went away (Disney), and that gave a new window of opportunity to write. COVID-19, and especially people schooling at home, gave new topics to write about. Again, I froze. I knew what I should be doing… getting my website back up, rather than paying each year for it to sit unattended. I went to go write. However, the hosting service did an update, which meant reformatting my entire website and copying every article over to a new version. Another convenient excuse to not write and face my fear.
Then came the TedTalk for class. I found the talk, “If you do it right, it, and you, will be forever,” by George Lois-- the ‘Greek God of Advertising (per the video description) to be inspiring. At the 6:50 mark of the video, Lois states,
“You can be cautious— or you can be creative, but there is no such thing as a cautious creative. Better to be reckless than careful. Better to be bold than safe. Better to have your work seen and remembered or have struck out… there is no middle ground. But understand a talented, but meek, personality that allows those big ideas to be trampled upon can never join the great pantheon of the greats, because timidity and fear of the frey leads to mediocrity (Lois, 2014). ”
I am a very creative individual and I have been letting my light get hidden by fear. I do not want to live that way anymore. If anything, COVID-19 has shown us to not wait to do things until tomorrow. Recently, life’s plans came to a grinding halt...not just mine, but also for millions of people around the world. Some things were as simple as being at Disney and saying that I would take pictures of the topiaries the next time we were there. Now, the chances of Disney opening before the end of the Flower & Garden festival are looking fairly slim.
Our class discussion involves research, insight, and action. Each day, I come up with great ideas for articles. I research them. I come up with great insight on how I want to share that information with the world, sometimes even writing it down or creating the video. The part I currently lack is action. I am taking that action this week. I am lacing up my shoes (reformatting the website), taking those steps onto the path (publishing my articles), and hoping that I do not get slowed down by quick sand or encounter too many snakes on this renewed adventure.
Reference:
Lois, G. (2014, May 28). If you do it right, it, and you, will live forever: George Lois at
TEDxThessaloniki. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/
watch?time_continue=3&v=fzHIZOnCQLc&feature=emb_title
