I try to blog once a week. But last week I didn’t. And this week, when I sat down to write a blog post called “Why blogging is like running,” I was too tired to do it.
I was too tired for these reasons:
- Work is really busy because it’s going really well. Last week I was published in the Washington Post, I’m speaking at this conference in June, and I’ve been doing lots of interesting work for clients.
- Personally, there’s been a lot on the go, too. I’ve devoted more energy than usual to some important people in my life because of the things on their plates.
I got into freelance writing because I wanted to write, which I love, and because I wanted to have the flexibility to respond to the things that come up on a personal level.
So right now I’m tired for all the right reasons. I’m tired because this month, I’m being successful in the ways I define successful—doing interesting work and having time to tend to the important things going on in my personal life.
Lately, I’ve been talking to many people (like Rachel and Toni) about what success does and doesn’t look like for me and for them, and how personal it is to define success. Ignore voices that tell you success must look like X or Y. That’s a clear sign they’re not interested in you or what success actually looks like for you.
Blogging once a week has never been one of my markers of success.
Yet blogging is the perfect example of something where if you’re not doing it x times a week or month, you feel like you’re not doing it the way you’re supposed to be doing it.
Screw that. Do it the way that works for you, not others. (And find your tribe, which will support and encourage you in the ways you need to be supported and encouraged.)
That was going to be the big metaphor I was going to explain in my “Why blogging is like running” post. The training regimen that works for me won’t necessarily work for you. That is really obvious but we often forget it.
Doing something different from others because it's what works for you is not a sign of failure. It’s a sign you know what success is for you.
When you feel that nagging sense you should be doing something more or less or differently than you are, ask yourself: Do you feel that way because you’re listening to people that view success differently than you do?
If so, stop. There’s no point in doing what works for other people. Whether it’s blogging or running, do what works for you.