On December 4th, 2010, after several hours of filtering through two dozen ”taken” names, I became a proud member of the WordPress community. In my first post, I stated that ”My primary goal here is to encourage alternative ways of thinking in a world of mindless sheep.” (By the way, this and many of my comments are meant to be more facetious than critical.) To update, my goal is simply to write. If I can somehow capture the beauty of the world in words, if I can offer a new perspective, and if I can bolster my writing skills in the process, I will be happy. But if I simply write and go unnoticed, I would still be beyond content.
I have been blogging for about six weeks now. For 40 days, I have shared my personal thoughts, beliefs, and experiences with the world. I have made ties with new “friends” all over the world. I have received praise and encouragement, for which I am very grateful! More than one person has told me that they have been deeply affected by something I wrote. A family friend who is expecting his first child read one of my early blogs on what my parents did right in raising me (here) and said he plans to follow a similar guideline in raising his own children. Others have told me that they can really relate to what I have shared and that they appreciate the new perspectives, honest opinions, and effective metaphors.
What a wonderful feeling that is! People are not only listening to what I have to say, but benefitting from it as well. I recently read a book, The Art of Non-Conformity, where the author compares his masters programs to his blogging experience. Three professors read his dissertation and sent him away with a certificate and a pat on the back. His blog is read by tens of thousands of people all across the globe each day. Maybe if you have a message to share, blogging is the way to go.
So, back to the title of this post. How on earth is blogging anything like bench pressing? I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know a thing about bench pressing, or any form of excercise for that matter. But what I do know is that the more you do something, the better you become at it. As the wheels in your mind reel at increasing speeds and your fingers furiously fight to keep up, you may one day pause for a second and realize that you have cultivated not only a greater passion for writing, but also enhanced your abilities. As stated so aptly by Anthony Trollope, “A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.”
Although herculean feats are exciting, they are somewhat rare and often lead to burnout. After one day of working out, you aren’t going to look like that one neighbor who apparently spent all of his money budgeted for shirts on a bench press. Achieving something great, destroying a stubborn obstacle, and gaining recognition can all evoke that amazing, top-of-the-world feeling. But this haste prevents you from noticing the small milestones (50 page views, hooray!). I believe these make the journey and the experience more fulfilling and worthwhile.
I’ve always been a thinker. And I have always loved school assignments that involve research, opinions, analysis, and basically any form of writing. But I avoided the classmate peer-review and editing process at all costs. I would love to read and critique your paper, but mine?…umm, I must have left it at home on “accident”. I have always harbored a fear of sharing my thoughts with others. Am I weird for thinking this way? Will what I say go right over their head? What if I accidentally mixed up the “i” and “e” in their? What if my transitions aren’t good enough?
Yesterday my blog reached 1,000 page views. Wow! What was I so afraid of? Why did I wait so long to open my mouth?
Even though many view are inevitably by family and friends who simply want to support me, that number blows my mind. People I’ve never met are reading, liking, commenting on, and subscribing to my posts. Incredible.
“Dude, you been working out? I can tell.”
Word-Pressing not only builds up mental muscle, but also confidence. People notice you and people compliment your work. Then you begin working even harder to maintain and improve your miraculous little brainchild who is growing up faster than you are able to keep up with.
So here’s to you, my fellow Word-Pressers! Keep up the first-class work!
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I started blogging after reading a book – 
Milestones are a perfect time to look back on your accomplishments and plan ahead for the future. In my four months of blogging, I’ve published 100 posts, reached over than 20,000 page views, and received more than 1,000 comments, thanks in large part to being Freshly Pressed. Who would have thought? I was shocked and ecstatic the day I clocked in 100 views! I have no idea what’s ahead, but I know that I’m facing in the right direction and if I just keep moving, things are sure to work out.
To all my new readers, thank you for reading and following me; I hope you will enjoy and appreciate what I have to say. And an even bigger thanks goes out to those who have supported me since I began my WordPress journey! I couldn’t have done it without you.
