One Year of Blogging
I published my first blog on January 24, 2023. One year and 56 blog posts later, here we are. I thought I would take a moment to put the last year into perspective and share some things that I have learned over the past year of blogging.
As of today, this blog has been viewed over 5,100 times by over 3,900 people. This is hard for me to believe. The only promotion that I do is one simple post on Facebook every Friday morning. Thank you to everyone who has read and / or shared Approaching-60 in the last year. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the support and the many positive comments I have received online and in-person. It has been a humbling experience.
As I mention on the “About Buddy” page on the site, this blog is “a desire to find a vehicle to share thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and stories that have become more important to me as I see the future as finite. Hopefully, some of what I share will resonate with you and make you think or feel. Ideally, both.”
So, what have I learned? Three things have become crystal clear: People want to Feel; People want to Think; People want to Hope.
People want to Feel
The stories that have been the most read and received the most comments were those that were deeply personal and emotional. People have clearly related to the stories that are hard to share and demonstrate our vulnerability. In fact, the most read blog of the year was “A Change of Heart” about my cousin Greg and his battle with cardiomyopathy and an eventual heart transplant.
People feel pain in their lives and I think they draw comfort from hearing similar stories and knowing that they are not alone in life’s struggles.
People want to Think
I have tried my best to share nothing but positive stories over the past year. From day one, I have been committed to not adding to the negative rhetoric that surrounds us everyday. However, I have wanted to challenge your thinking and inspire you to look at things from a different perspective at times. If we don’t continue to analyze our beliefs and scrutinize our thoughts, we stop growing as people.
My most recent blog “Let’s not be Great” is a good example of challenging our conventional thinking. People have responded very positively to these type of blogs as I work through my feelings with you.
People want to Hope
Probably the biggest learning over the past year is that folks desire to hear positive stories that reinforce the good things in life. We hear and see so much negative information on a daily basis that erodes our hope for the future. Stories that share love, companionship, joy, fun, and family help us keep our hope for the future strong.
A line in “It’s the Little Things that Count” sums it up for me. “The real joys in life are all the little moments of connection, compassion, love, friendship, and grace. Moments that we don’t plan for or anticipate. Moments that happen by just being present in the lives of those we love and care about.”
My Hope
My hope for all who read this blog is that they may be inspired by my words to feel, think, and hope a little bit more. If you do that, then I have made a small difference in your life.