Here’s one of the great benefits of blogging: It holds you accountable.
If you blog about your goal of finishing a rough draft by next month, that goal is no longer bouncing around your head — it’s bouncing around the blogosphere. If you tell your readers you’re going to move to a new city, they expect you to do it.
Photo from Flickr's smooretech.
But the best part is that writing down your goals and dreams, fleshing them out in blog posts, not only makes them real to your readers, it also makes them real to you. It forces us to say, flat out in writing, what we want. Blogging holds us accountable to ourselves.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail — a six-seven month walk from Georgia to Maine — has been on my bucket list for years. But it wasn’t until I mentioned that goal in a post recently that it suddenly became attainable. Something I could really choose to do next. Maybe I didn’t realize how much I wanted it until I wrote it for all of you to see. I hadn’t even though about when I could start the hike until I wrote that post, then counted the months to March or April, when most hikers hit the trail. It’s six months away, I realized. Six months from now. Stamping that dream with a date made it real.
A whole lot could happen between now and March. I could get a full-time job. I could move. I could have some other responsibility that prevents me from picking up and doing another dream trip. But if I don’t, if I’m still growing my own business and saving money and free as a bird to do whatever I choose, I might choose to hike the AT.
And the only reason that became an obvious choice was because I wrote it here.
Funny how life blogging works, huh?
Oh la la, I think you should do the hike! Not many people in this world can claim they’ve done it!!! Isn’t it exciting that your life could go in ANY direction???
Yes, funny how life/blogging works. I believe we should do as many of our dreams as possible as soon as possible. Go for it, Alexis.
karen
It is funny how that all works. And I hope you do get to hike the AT – I have some friends who hiked it a few years ago and they LOVED the experience.
Maybe I need to blog about some goals…hmmm… 🙂
Thanks for support, guys! It all depends on whether a few full-time jobs I’m interested in pan out… Will keep you posted.
I love that blogging about my goals puts it out there and makes it real. I hope you have a chance to hike the trail. That would be so exciting! 🙂 I, for one, would love to read all about it.
I was thinking about this today when someone asked me why I’m doing (and blogging) my 52 crafts in 52 weeks challenge. I wanted to be more creative and starting the challenge and the consequent blog has made me accountable to all the readers (and myself) – so I’ve got to do it!
I hope you get to hike the trail – sounds amazing.
Alexis,
I am so excited for your upcoming goal. Putting it out there to others is a wonderful way to get people excited and ready to give you all the support you need to tackle a goal or overcome an obstacle that you know is big. People will not only hold you accountable, but they will reach out wanting to help in so many ways that you will be shocked by the response.
This is outstanding advice for anyone and I know it will lead to some amazing new discoveries for you as you count down the days until you start walking. I look forward to following along on the ramp up to the trip.
Very true stuff! This is precisely the reason I’m focusing my blog on writing my first novel. I need to be honest with myself and set deadlines. This is my next step. Setting a deadline and telling my readers to be held accountable. Scary!
So true, I so agree with you to go ahead and do it. I just sign with a publisher to publish poetry and short stories . I am still contemplation on how to say it out loud. But If I did not, I may postpone it till latter . I believe in accountability . I want you to do it. I always come to your blog for a therapy session. You always have something worth saying to say. I appreciate your 00000000. It makes me see how far I am with technology.