Blog-versary

This will be the 55th weekly post to my Monday Morning With Mona’s site, which means that I have come to the blog every week for a year to share a little something. This also means I have consistently shown up to do something that is usually fun, and other times a pain in the rear. I don’t really promote my blog, and the numbers show it. I don’t spend a lot of time on beautiful formatting, and the pages show it. Sometimes, I don’t even spend a lot of time creating interesting content, and those blogs reflect it too, but I do show up…every single week.

I don’t recall why I started writing. If I remember correctly, which if you listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s Podcast, Revisionist History, the episode, Free Brian Williams, you’ll understand why I question, even my most simple recollection, but if I remember correctly, I think it was because I needed a self-imposed deliverable. Coronavirus was spreading. Things were shutting down. There was no need for me to show up anywhere at any particular time. Actually, for many weeks, I couldn’t show up anywhere. The lockdowns kept me safely at home with my dog, so the blog was “something” that I could do to keep me on some semblance of a schedule.

I remember the early weeks of writing. I would be so nervous to hit the Publish button. By hitting that button, I would be sending my writing into the universe for anyone with the internet to read. I could be judged. People could say ugly things. I would potentially be proving that I am a terrible writer and an embarrassment. What I found was that only a few people read it; everyone was positive, and no one called me out as a terrible writer. There was no reason to be embarrassed.

I seldom track the numbers, and when a blog post gets over 100 readers, I am shocked and curious. Why did they like that blog? The ones I enjoyed writing the most were not usually the ones that got the most readers. Could it have been because certain blogs actually had value? Could it be because certain blogs were shared to more FB Groups? Could it be that I hit that scary Publish button at the perfect time? Who knows? What I do know is that I have had random people thank me for sharing information. I guess I never really know who needs what, so I just keep putting out bits and pieces of my life into the universe with hopes of helping someone through a hard time, with hopes of motivating someone to try something new, or with hopes that the writing will help a person with whatever challenge she or he may be facing. Maybe some posts are just for entertainment or to show my family what’s going on in my life.

If you have ever taken the time to read a blog and to return, I thank you. If you have ever read one and shared it with a friend, I thank you. If you have ever said a nice word after reading a post, I thank you. I have no idea what content I will put out into the universe over the next year, but I will keep showing up, and maybe I will even do a little more work to make this just a little better.

Here are some interesting stats in case you are curious: the blog has had over 4000 views from people in 26 countries. I have shared it on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. In the next year of writing, I will figure out Pinterest and will share on there too, but for now, I will keep it simple, and I will keep it fun.

If you are out there and considering writing, sharing videos, or have another creative way of sharing content, hit Publish. You will feel braver and more confident every week as you get used to sharing.