Time to take stock

I have wanted to write this post for a couple of weeks. It’s been 15 posts and three months since I started my blog so I figure it’s time to take stock.

Is it what I thought it would be like?

Has the journey been easy?

Have I been scared, anxious or disappointed?

Am I glad I took this step of faith?

Am I having the impact I hoped for?

These are just some of the questions on my mind as I take stock of the past three months.

The calling to start a blog came to me on the 12th of November 2017 and two weeks later, I published my first post. I still remember the feelings of joy and elation as I saw the numbers of views go up.

So what have I learnt over the past three months?

I have learnt to take risks. I took a risk when I opted to leave my job in the bank, and I took another when I decided to start a blog. It was scary to start with, as I questioned my decisions but in hindsight, I am glad I took both risks. 

It’s true that not all risks pay off but your next one just might. If you don’t take a risk, nothing happens but if you do something good might happen. 

It’s ok to be disappointed but don’t wallow in the cesspool of disappointment.  Some posts have done better than others and on the odd days there are no views at all. I can’t help but be disappointed in those moments but then I remind myself to look at the bigger picture. Quite often the numbers are made up a day later. I have a choice to focus on a part of the journey or to look at the whole.

One view only sees a challenge or a disappointing moment while the other sees an end goal being accomplished after many ups and downs.

You can be afraid but don’t let fear stop you from moving forward. There are times when I fear if I will run out of topics to write or thoughts to share. If I allow the fear to take root, I reckon it will paralyse me.

So, I remind myself of those who have had a blog for years or novelists who are able to churn out book after book. If they can find something to say, why can’t I? Also if push comes to shove, no one is holding a gun to my head insisting that I keep blogging. If a day comes that I want to wave goodbye to blogging, it’s my choice.

Really, there’s nothing to fear and nothing to be anxious about.

I have also learnt to be grateful for my life and the opportunity to share it with the world. As I see readers from nations I’ve not imagined visiting, I am awed and grateful that my words and my life can encourage and bless others. After all there’s got to be more to life than being preoccupied with ourselves. So, if all my blog does is to inspire one person to transform their life, it would have been worth it.

Sometimes, all it takes is one person who will say, ‘here I am, send me’, one person who will say, I will find the cure for cancer, or two people like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates who will commit to give most of their income to advance change in the world.

Change starts with each of us and we should never undervalue the opportunity that we have to fulfil destiny. That’s why I am grateful for my life and my blog as in my mind’s eye, I can see the one person who will be impacted by this and change their world for the better. So I am grateful that I get to play my own part so others may run their own race and run it well.

In closing, two months have gone this year but there are ten other months to go after anything you have delayed until now. Starting tomorrow, pick it up – pick yourself up, pick up your goals, dreams, passions and hopes. Own them and make them happen.

Thank you for sticking with me over the past three months, for reading my blog and encouraging me. 

See you next week. Please share this post with your contacts.