I FINALLY BELIEVE IN RESOLUTIONS, BECAUSE I KEPT ONE

Photo courtesy of INP Photography

This day is super exciting for me as it represents me keeping a 365 day promise to myself. At the end of 2016, I decided that I wanted to become a blogger as a step in my career plan as a writer, speaker and Gypsythug. I set a goal of blogging once a week for a year and…I did it. Every Monday, rain or shine, I posted for my lovely readers.

This is the first time in 44 years that I have made a year long resolution for myself and actually kept it.

It feels…weird. I’m used to bailing around March with a “well, I tried” kind of resignation about so many of my resolutions. This time around I feel so proud of myself because…I DID IT!!

There was no one to generate content and publish it FOR me, so I had to learn how to do it all myself. I scoured Pinterest and watched tons of YouTube videos to figure out WordPress, blog skins, mailing lists, photo reuse, subscribe pop-ups (didn’t figure that out until November.) I had to learn to keep my own stats and to discover where my audience actually was (and wasn’t-equally as important.) I had to come up with something of value to offer my readers, whether it was humor or vulnerability, every single week. Some Mondays when I was on tour, I had to video it in. Some weeks I procrastinated and I had to get up really early to get my blog posted. One Monday I barely got the blog posted before Monday was technically over. Sometimes I had to write a whole blog on my phone if we were traveling. Some Mondays I drug my butt out of the camper in the wee hours to find some WiFi and post. Sometimes I wracked my brain to think of anything at all to write. I wanted badly to be a finisher, per Jon Acuff’s encouragement. I wanted to defy perfectionism per Anne Lamotte’s instructions to writers. I wanted to engage in the War of Art with Steven Pressfield and win it by doing something I am made to do and that I love. I wanted to do what I tell my own students to do.

Sometimes I wondered if I had over shared or made myself look foolish. The answer was usually “yes” and I had some real moments of legit blogger’s remorse and a few passionate discussions with semi-haters.

But then you. My lovely readers. You read, you laughed at/with me. You reposted. You commented. You sent me messages. You encouraged me that I was giving something that was needed and wanted and so I kept on writing.

I am stunned to say that I had a total blog reads count of 53, 619. This is far beyond what I expected. The blogs that rose to the top were not at all the ones I predicted to succeed and I have found a fascinating niche with people who love to sing. I also discovered that my seriously vulnerable blogs got more reads than my humorous ones. This really surprised me because I have often wondered if I have enough substance and wisdom to really help people. I found out that I do.

So here I am at 2018’s doorstep and I am less afraid than ever to make a year long resolution. Now I know that I can do it. 2017 has shown me that I can make a year long goal and achieve it. For real. This year’s career resolutions will be about finishing a Gypsythugmom book, beginning research for another and getting myself out there in the public speaking world. If you are in the market for a storyteller of substance for your 2018, I’m your thug. Check out my public speaking info page and give me a chance.🙂

Those are not my most important resolutions for 2018 though. This is the year that I am going to change my own personal life in ways I have been too scared to until now. I am usually the last person on my list in regards to self-care and I can’t live like that anymore.

I use sugar to combat anxiety and stress. I use overworking and exhaustion as an excuse to be physically inactive. I use the human interaction nature of my voice and performance work as a substitute for real community and connection. There you have it, I’m a hot mess. I may get a blog up every Monday but sometimes I haven’t showered in 3 days or eaten anything but perogies all day. My rotator cuffs hurt, my tailbone hurts and my pants don’t fit. If I can do all the work it takes to fuel and maintain a successful blog, I can learn how to take care of my 44 year old self for more than ten weeks at a time. I can do it. You can bet I’ll blog about it too.

What do you want to do this year? What are you afraid you might fail at? What are you scared of not finishing? What do you want to do that you don’t know how to do? THIS IS YOUR YEAR!  I would love to hear what you are planning to do that scares you to death. Putting it out there in the cyber-world helps make it more real. If I can make a resolution and keep it, so can you! Tell me what you’re going to do!

P.S. I want to give a big shout out to my editors Sharleen Thornberry, Shaelyn Poteet and Barry Patterson for helping me dot my i’s and cross my t’s and say things in better ways. Team Gypsythugmom rocks!