Over the course of my life, I’ve embraced a number of
different hobbies: baseball cards, video games, tennis, art, just to name a
few. But none of them have changed my life or brought me as much satisfaction
as blogging. In almost too many ways to count, it has changed me and the way I
live my life.
In fact, so much so, it has become a hobby I regularly
recommend to others. I started blogging as a personal tool to journal the
changes we were making as we began minimizing our possessions. But somewhere
along the line, it became less about me writing the story and more about the
story changing me.
And while there are many articles written about why you
should blog to grow your business or become an expert or make a whole bunch of
money—the best recommendations are still found in the personal realization that
blogging changes you, the writer.
15 Thoughts on How Blogging Impacts Life
1. You’ll become a better writer. At its core, writing is
communication. It is about recording thoughts on paper and compelling others to
agree with them. To that end, writing (just like every other form of
communication that has ever existed) improves with practice. Blogging will not
force you to become a better writer, it’ll just happen as you do it. And becoming
a better writer holds important benefits for the rest of your life—whether you
are creating a book, a presentation, a résumé, or an anniversary card for your
spouse.
2. You’ll become a better thinker. Because the process of
writing includes recording thoughts on paper, the blogging process encourages
you to stop and think deeper. You will delve deeper into the matters of your
life and the worldview that shapes them. Unfortunately, at this point, many
will choose not to blog (or write at all) based on the faulty reasoning that
they “have nothing to say.” But to that line of thinking I always respond the
same way, maybe you just haven’t discovered yet what you have to say.
3. You’ll live a more intentional life. Once you start
writing about your life and the thoughts that shape it, you’ll begin thinking
more intentionally about who you are, who you are becoming, and whether you
like what you see or not. And that just may be reason enough to get started.
4. You’ll develop an eye for meaningful things. By
necessity, blogging requires a filter. It’s simply not possible to write about
every event, every thought, and every happening in your life. Instead, blogging
is a never-ending process of choosing to articulate the most meaningful events
and the most important thoughts. This process of choice helps you develop an
eye for meaningful things. And remember that sometimes the most meaningful
things appear in the most mundane—but you’ll see what I mean once you get
started.
5. It’ll lead to healthier life habits. Blogging requires
time, devotion, commitment, and discipline. And just to be clear, those are all
good things to embrace – they will help you get the most out of your days and
life. Since beginning to blog, I have become an early riser, a runner, and can
now properly identify my favorite drink at Starbuck’s (Caramel Macchiato). And
even if those three habits don’t personally appeal to you, blogging will
provide opportunity for new life habits to emerge in yours.
6. You’ll meet new people. Whether it be through comments,
e-mails, or social media, you may be surprised at how quickly you meet people
on-line. And by meet people, I mean legitimately form relationships that seek
to serve one another. The blogging community is friendly, encouraging, and genuinely
cheering for you to succeed—the only thing missing is you.
7. You’ll make some money. You don’t need to make money to
enjoy blogging. In fact, sometimes making money from your blog can actually
start to distract you from the joy that you found in the first place. That
being said, whether you make $20/year or $20,000/year, it’s still pretty nice
to have a hobby that actually pays you back.
8. You’ll inspire others. Blogging not only changes your
life, it also changes the life of the reader. And because blogs are free for
the audience and open to the public, on many levels, it is an act of giving. It
is a selfless act of service to invest your time, energy, and worldview into a
piece of writing and then offer it free to anybody who wants to read it. Others
will find inspiration in your writing… and that’s a wonderful feeling.
9. You’ll become more well-rounded in your mindset. After
all, blogging is an exercise in give-and-take. One of the greatest differences
between blogging and traditional publishing is the opportunity for readers to
offer input. As the blog’s writer, you introduce a topic that you feel is
significant and meaningful. You take time to lay out a subject in the minds of
your readers and offer your thoughts on the topic. Then, the readers get to
respond. And often times, their responses in the comment section challenge us
to take a new, fresh look at the very topic we thought was so important in the
first place.
10. It’s free. Your blog can begin today without spending a
single penny now (or ever). I use WordPress and highly recommend it. With an
initial investment of $0, why not give it a shot? Or for just a few
dollars/month, you can use your very own domain name. I use and recommend
Bluehost.
11. You’ll become more comfortable being known. Blogging
introduces yourself to the world. It causes you to articulate the life you live
and the worldview behind the decisions that you make. Whether you have 1 reader
or 10,000, the blogging process opens up your life to those on the outside. It
is a good exercise in human-existence to be known by others. Over time, you’ll
reveal more and more of yourself to the outside world… and you’ll be excited to
find a world that relates to you and enjoys hearing your story.
12. It’ll serve as a personal journal. Blogging serves many
of the same roles as a personal journal. It trains us to be observant and gives
weight to the personal growth that we are experiencing. It trains our minds to
track life and articulate the changes we are experiencing. Your blog becomes a
digital record of your life that is saved “in the cloud.” As a result, it can
never be lost, stolen, or destroyed in a fire.
13. You’ll become more confident. Blogging will help you
discover more confidence in your life. You will quickly realize that you do
live an important life with a unique view and have something to offer others.
14. You’ll find a platform to recommend. We all love to
recommend something we have found enjoyable or beneficial—whether it be a nice
restaurant, a good book, or a new outlook on life. The fullness of joy is not
experienced until we have shared that joy with others. A blog provides an
opportunity to do that very thing. It provides a platform to share the joy we
have experienced and recommend good things we have discovered to others.
15. It’s quite a rush with every positive comment. There’s a
certain little rush that accompanies the immediate positive feedback that you
receive every time a reader posts a comment, shares your writing on Facebook,
or tweets it out to their Twitter followers. While walking the fine line
between finding encouragement in that feedback and obsessing over it may take
some time to get used to, it’s far better to find that line than to never seek
it out in the first place.
Remember, you don’t need to blog as a means to get rich or
as a means to gather a huge following. You don’t even need to blog as a means
to change the Internet… the change that a blog will cause in your life is
reason enough.
Thank you for making this one of the most popular posts on
the Internet today about the benefits of blogging. In response, I have written
a helpful guide to getting started, “A Simple, Helpful Guide to Start Your Own
Blog.” If you are interested in starting a blog, you will find the information
to be both practical and inspirational.
Note: I am a Bluehost affiliate which means they offer me a
commission every time someone signs up via one of my links. But this does not
influence my recommendation. I have used Bluehost from the very beginning and
continue to do so today.
Written by Joshua Becker
Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.
WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.
You can follow hom pn twitter.com/joshua_becker or www.facebook.com/becomingminimalist
No comments:
Post a Comment