How Letting Go of Privacy Has Paid Off

As I look back at my first year of writing this blog I have learned a lot about myself. I have also learned how much dedication it takes to keep up with writing posts, growing an audience, keeping up with social media, and seeking interesting topics to write about.

I really love writing about my life, my children and of course, my running. I like helping other moms and dads see that our crazy parenting adventures are normal and I hope I am helping us all realize that we can find solace together. I like connecting with other runners and writing about issues that we all find important and useful. I like sharing my ideas with the world and allowing some great guest writers to do the same.

I loved writing before I had children, but since having children I love writing even more. I have so much content just thrown at my feet on a near daily basis that it is difficult to keep up sometimes. I remember a few specific conversations with my children that had sparked my interest in writing over the years (below are a few screenshots of examples). Children just see things differently than adults do. Looking at a simple word, sentence, event, or experience through the eyes of a child reveals an entirely new, yet nostalgic, perspective on life... and it provides so much writing content!

Prior to MamaGottaRun I did publish a family, more private blog for seven years. It was technically public so that my friends and family could easily access it, but I never really published articles that did more than update acqaintances with pictures from our fun family adventures or talk about doctor's appointments my kids had. I still have it live, but haven't updated it regularly this year. Serving as my online scrapbook for the last 7 years, I used to love how I chronicled our life there. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to restore that blog and post on it more regularly as a way to keep a sort of online scrapbook once again.

I was a little nervous about publishing blog articles with content written for a public audience intended for public consumption. Starting MamaGottaRun meant that I was going to have to let go of some privacy, privacy that wasn't entirely mine to give away. I had seriously contemplated for years what it would mean to myself, my children, my husband, and my relationships with my friends and family if I started writing about the quirky, stressful or funny situations I encountered with all of them. 

As you know I decided to take that risk. I let go of that privacy, shared it with the world, and decided to see what would happen. I am glad I did because the joy and catharsis that has come from writing, the connections I have made with other human beings around the world, and the professional and personal connections that have come from blogging this year have paid off.

If you have ever thought about starting a blog you should try it. I will tell you that it isn't easy. You won't make everyone happy. You might hurt someone's feelings. You will have to write articles when you really just want to go to bed because you know that if you don't publish regularly, readers won't come back. You won't get paid any money for your hard work. Some articles that you loved writing and felt great passion for won't get read by hardly anyone. Other articles that you didn't put much effort into will surprisingly spark conversations you didn't anticipate.

But you will make people smile. You will inspire others. You will find an outlet for your own personal growth and writing ability. You will learn so much about so many things. 

I am thinking about the changes and the upgrades that I want to do to MamaGottaRun this year. If you are a regular reader I'd love to hear what you enjoy most about this blog. Are there changes that you believe would make this site even more wonderful? Comment below.

It took a year, but I just hit 2,500 Tweeps!