Weary Of Why

Ahead of deciding to create a blog I doubted my choice immensely.

Maybe it was the marketing side of me.. What is its purpose? How will it be successful if you don't have a plan, a vision. Maybe it was just me, the cynical negative part of me squashing my what already seemed quite out of reach dreams - a successful blog. With me sometimes still to master the english language, trying to form coherent sentences that get my messages across, attempting to convey wit and humour and come up with anything good to actually write about. 

Will anyone even like what I have to write about? Will this be time wasted?

Yet from reading other bloggers forging the way, their words could not help but further inspire me.  

As Jeff Goins wrote - "If we don't start we'll never know"

Some dreams are worth a little pain, overcoming challenges and finding more of yourself along the way is what makes the pain and success of knowing you have come out the other side, despite everything in front of you more rewarding. 

Not only am I weary if this venture will work out for me, but I question why am I venturing? 

Why do I find myself asking these questions. 

Russell Ward's - Are we sharing too much?, talks about the digital landscape changing not only the way we capture and remember the moments in our lives, but also the reasons why. 

In todays day and age of the compulsive need to check-in, #hashtag and 'like' makes me question my own motives. It naturally comes with the territory here in the Blogo'sphere and inter-web universe. Why do I feel the need to share my life in bits and pieces through a blog? Is keeping a personal journal without peering eyes just as good, a collection a photo albums, walls and mantles full of framed photos justice enough?

The question really is, Am I doing this for the right reasons? 

I do find myself guilty of suffering from 'check-in-itis' the illusion of being associated with a certain place or lifestyle. As though the saying, "unless your friends know, it didn't happen" has now evolved somewhat to "if it isn't on Facebook it didn't happen" as though the posts on our pages and the likes received are an approval rate of recognition. 

I do realise that whether or not my life has been documented on Facebook it did exist no matter whose eyes witness it, my lifetime is my timeline regardless

And maybe the motivating lives and words of Tim Anderson and Kate Bryne sum it up:

They say nothing in life is guaranteed except for death and taxes, although I think we could add my unwavering self doubt to that list. 

You aren't guaranteed the white picket fenced house, a job when you graduate from university, degree in hand,  that things will stay the same, or that they'll go your way. 

But what we can do is focus on the things we can control, leading a lives less ordinary, dreaming big, thinking big and acting big in the name of creative endeavours and free ourselves from the everyday fear of going against the crowd and sticking to what we know. Although it does take work, to create something different to be proud of and call our own. But we shouldn't limit ourselves in life, chase the things that make us happy, don't settle.

I must say most of the challenges are mental, and the others social expectations placed by our cultural thinking. That being in the majority is better, taking the safer route undoubtedly more acceptable, even admirable. 

Yet that route doesn't suit me, I would have rather tried it differently because no matter where the path takes me I will undoubtedly be in the house with child and husband with a city commute type life, yet I'm willing to take the road less traveled to get there. 

After posing a problem to myself and the much mulling that followed this is what I've decided...

This may be a funny photo to accompany this post, but I've chosen it because this was me whilst I was writing. And I was happy, to be writing, working on something, imagining the final product posting, and because it felt good to create and share. It sounds like an advertising line for HP or Apple, but there is truth to what they're selling. It's human nature to tell our stories and in today's day and age we've created and opened ourselves up to new platforms to do just that. Especially participating in the social aspect of sharing and possibly receiving something back.

I'm finding myself wanting to write, create and document the pieces of my life this way to create purpose. It gives me a reason to do more, go further. 

Ensure a life well lived. 

It helps me sort out my thoughts, find myself by finding what it means to me to have something to say, having something to share, to contribute. Living life is reason enough but this blog creates purpose and not leaving it up to chance that the adventure will find me. I'm enjoying staring into a computer screen and seeing a world of opportunity in it. 

The idea of failure scares me more than death, but the idea of not trying is death. So here it goes. Welcome to The Focal Point.