When’s the last time you were unsure how to proceed? When there were many doors from which to choose … all seemingly good … but you just couldn’t get clarity about which one to approach.
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| Doors of Campinas, Brazil |
My “last time” started a few years ago, and things still haven’t gotten much clearer.
Plan A: (2010) Open Etsy shop selling vintage linens and dishes. Start blog and do tablescapes featuring items for sale. (2012) Add My Place To Yours SHOPPING and feature more sale items.
Reality: I was loving writing this blog and doing tablescapes, but the inventory overflowed and packing supplies cluttered my house … and the whole thing was sucking my spirit dry. Besides, there really wasn’t much income, and no matter how much potential I saw in my mind, the truth was it just wasn’t working in my world … and so I got rid of most of my inventory and much of my personal “stuff” … and it felt good; still does.
So then what?
Plan B: (mid-2012) Focus more on doing particular kinds of posts in order to link to specific blog parties (which would, in theory, drive more traffic to my blog). The plan included self-imposed “pressure to perform” on schedule.
Reality: I enjoy my interaction with other blogs and am always grateful for the new visitors I meet through blog parties … but after almost three years of blogging, the parties are getting too big, and I don’t like having to remember to go back and link up every week. Oh, I have some favorite parties I’ll always enjoy joining when the mood strikes, but I guess I’ve become a little distracted.
Distracted … by these questions: WHY do I still blog? What’s the purpose? Is blogging the best use of my time? It is, but I’m realizing I need to do some refining…
Six months after starting this blog, I wrote that I blog for sanity! It was the first time I shared with you about my involvement with Hope Unlimited for Children and how it affects my life on a daily basis. Everything I said then still holds.
Then another six months passed, and I wrote an open letter to my blog readers about why I was still blogging. In it I said I wanted you to find inspiration and encouragement when you visit here. Still do.
But that was almost two years ago. Why am I still blogging now?
Well, I’m not blogging to focus on sales. Been there. Done that. And I’m not blogging to increase followers. Been there. Done that, too. If it happens, I’ll be really grateful for new friends; if not, it’s okay. In fact, I recently removed the followers gadgets from my sidebar because I don’t want to write for numbers.
So where does that leave me? What is my goal here? Good question! I’ve been trying to figure that out for months.
I asked myself what kind of blogs I most like to visit. The answer: Ones that make me think; sometimes through humor, other times through introspection. Ones that get my creative juices flowing; sometimes through sheer beauty, other times through pushing the proverbial envelope. If a blog is well-written and uplifting, I’ll go back. If it’s hard to read (with a tiny or cluttered font, poor proofreading, or a constant negative/self-focused/depressing rant), I’ll leave it behind.
So what kind of blog do I want to write? Looking back through almost three years of posts, I’ve come to realize that I am most pleased with this blog when I’m looking beyond myself. Oh, of course, I tell my stories because that’s what I know, but I’m happiest when their focus is elsewhere. I feel “at my best” when I’m focused on you. Sometimes that means I’m honest about a struggle I’m having that I suspect may be one of yours, too. Other times it simply means I share something I think you’ll enjoy.
Either way, I’ve refined my goal: I want to send three things … from My Place to Yours. I still want you to find the gifts of inspiration and encouragement when you come here, but I want to add one more gift: challenge. The gifts may come in various packages … tablescapes, vintage linens, creative caring, orphans … but I want you to come here knowing that each post is written with you in mind. In order to do that well, I need to know who you are — so I need your help.
Even if you never leave a comment or send me an email or click on my blog (only reading my posts via email), I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Please. I want to know “who’s out there” … so I’ll know how to wrap your gifts. *Smile*
Right now, before you do anything else, I’d like you to take my reader survey. You can do it in 5 minutes max (plus time for anything you wish to tell me) — and I promise not to ask your name (or household income!); in fact, you’ll be 100% anonymous.
Visitors from 159 different countries have made their way to My Place over the past few years. Aren’t you just a little bit curious who else is “out there” when you stop by? I sure am, and I look forward to finding out, but it’s only possible with everyone’s help.
Click HERE to take the survey … with thanks … from My Place to Yours.
(UPDATE: Survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated!)
I’m joining:
Mosaic Monday at Little Red House
Blue Monday at Smiling Sally
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
