Blogging without a challenge is only half as exciting and – at least for me – not very successful. So my friend Karen and I started our next blogging challenge. And after making it a full month, we’ve raised the bar a little higher:
100 days of daily blogging.
Now that’s something!
The rules for me are the same as last time: It doesn’t matter if it’s one picture, one word, or 5000 words and a whole gallery. The important thing is: just post something I enjoy.
I talked with a friend the other day, who is a total in person person and hates calls. I, on the other hand, love this option of video calling and I also think that the social quality of this kind of communication is amazing, even if the screen is between you and you don’t have direct eye contact.
Today we had our office day at the company I work for and I could totally relate to my friend’s feelings. The atmosphere was so vibrant and alive. It was like magic. You don’t get this with video calls. I enjoyed this a lot.
But I think also because I know that tomorrow I will be sitting comfortably at home making video calls. It’s that mix that lets you appreciate both ways of working together as a team. Hallelujah, post-pandemic way of working.
O. M. G! I made it! Not yet! I mean. Now that I am writing these lines I haven’t posted them yet. But I know that I will. Then I’ll have made it. 31 days each day publishing a blog post. I tried this a few times but never reached this goal. And now I did.
Why now? Mostly because I had – as I posted before – for the first time an accountability partner doing the same challenge, the best you can imagine.
Then I set the stakes very low at first: just post something each day. A picture, a word, thousand words. It didn’t matter. But what I realised when it was late and I was tired or had little time, was I didn’t want to just post something without joy. So the only „rule“ was that I wanted to create with fun.
And I’m very proud of myself. About the commitment. There were times when I took my laptop with me on my way to an appointment and wrote a post on the train.
And it was fun! It felt great! It sparked new ideas. And it brought me into a routine of writing and publishing. It made me confident.
What next? I’m sure I won’t post every day in the future. But I will post from time to time.
And that’s ok. I also want to find out what I want to post about. It’s a process. My topics will find me. And they will find me only when I keep posting.
I think in a way blogging has made me more curious about where this will take me.
So let this last post of this challenge be just one post in a never-ending row of posts.
I found this Concrete Dolls sticker and wanted to make something with it. Today was the day. And I’m not yet satisfied. That’s ok because it’s not the real sticker but a copy. So I’ll try again. I already have an idea. Stay tuned.
I’m surprised and delighted about my enthusiasm to organize a new internal event at my work. It reminds me of this feeling I had when creating new events during my time as a startup enthusiast and activist in my area. This excitement at bringing folks together and doing something fun. And it’s such a great feeling to spread this enthusiasm to my colleagues who are pleased and ready for this adventure. Let’s see how it goes.
I like those surprising moments when you come across things you didn’t know you were looking for and they take you further along your way. One of those moments was when I was looking for something work related on the Eventbrite website and one of the first events featured was this Louise Bourgeois-inspired drawing class.
The Louise Bourgeois exhibition I saw in Berlin some months ago was one of my most inspiring experiences in recent years. And to find it was another one of those surprising moments when the universe sends you the information you need.
It happened when I was in Berlin looking for interesting exhibitions. I found this, but also found out that it would only start after I had already left Berlin. But deep in my gut or heart I knew I had to see this exhibition. So I did, and it made a deep impression on me.
And recently, another such moment. After talking to my sister recently about the important things in life, I was looking for exhibitions in the area where I live and came across Helen Frankenthaler’s exhibition. She was a painter in the circle of another painter whom I have admired for many years, but never had the opportunity to see some of her (huge) paintings. And now it is this exhibition, and again I feel I should see her paintings and learn something about her.
I think the important thing is to trust your gut and really make some effort to take what it leads you to. To be curious and awake and open for what your body tells you is the right thing for you to do. Then you receive all these messages from the universe.
