I’ve known one of my talents is writing for a long time. I got awards for my poetry in elementary school. Recently, when my mom moved, she found a box with some of my work from when I was in elementary school. In it was a packet of poems I wrote. They were classic. I just spent the last thirty minutes trying to find that packet so I could share one of those poems, but I couldn’t find it. When I do, I’ll update this post and add one in. When I started this blog, I didn’t think the writing would be the hard part.
My blog posts have been more inconsistent than NC State athletics. I’ve tried to get myself to stick to a regular posting schedule, but I have not been successful. Over the years, I’ve used a variety of excuses but there is really just a couple of reason. I’m lazy, selfish, and insecure. When I have the time to write posts, I’d rather watch TV. When I do write posts, I don’t open up and wonder if anyone really reads them which makes them bad.
Even though I know God has given me talents in this area, I struggle to use them. I could push the blame and say that people aren’t reading the words so why write them (with the internet I can easily see how many hits my site get). But that really isn’t going to get me anywhere. I can’t just expected God to drop hundreds of readers into my lap and say when that happens then I will get consistent. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
I’ve got to refocus my attention on the things that really matter. Maybe you are at the same place I am. Maybe you have worked hard at something and haven’t seen the results you wanted. Maybe you have got unfocused. I know I have and am working to bring the focus back. There are three key ways I am doing this:
1. Spending time with God
2. Creating a post schedule and sticking to it
3. Intentionally learning from others who are where I want to be
I shouldn’t expect every blog post to be a hit. I shouldn’t expect everything I do to be a success. A few months ago, I ran a promo to try to get people to subscribe to my email list. I added 16 people. While I’m grateful for those that signed up, it was nowhere near what I was hoping for. Bob Goff says in his book Love Does, “Failure is just part of the process, and it’s not just okay; it’s better than okay. God doesn’t want failure to shut us down.” I may be at a point where only a few people read this, and I am learning to be okay with that. I’ll be faithful to those few people and post consistently. I’ll be open and transparent. I’m going to dig my talents out of the ground and start investing them. Those few people will grow to more, but only once I invest in the few.
What do you do to keep your focus on what matters?
until next time…
Photo courtesy of Peter Thoeny