5 Reasons why I chose to start a blog

5 min read

 

I have anticipated this day with both joy and a bit of anxiety but I am so happy to be finally launching my blog!

This page is not by any means perfect (yet) but I still hope you like it here and might drop by more often. I did have the intention to not launch until everything looked cute and professional and I had written about 100 posts, but I have realised that with those goals ‘The Bright and Bold Life’ would only ever be an idea and not a real thing. So one thing I have learnt is that if you strive for perfection you won’t get anything done. Like, there is a lot more I could have read and designed and prepared but I came to the conclusion that the only way this is going to work is for me to take a leap of faith and push ‘publish’ sooner or later. And here we are!

To begin with I will be publishing posts every Monday and Thursday to get into the swing of things. Potentially I will have a super creative week at some point (I mean, who knows) and then I might throw in some extra posts for you. Make sure you sign up to my email list so you can get a bi-weekly (minimal-inbox-clutter-alert!) round up of what is going on around here. You can also find me on instagram, twitter and facebook where I post almost daily.

If you wish to know a bit more of who I am you may click the ‘Start Here’ button at the top which contains links to a little section about myself and a bit of story time about my personal journey. There is also a contact page in case you have any questions, comments, complaints or other musings!

To kick things off, I wanted to list 5 of the reasons why I blog. You might not know but I actually first started blogging in 2009. After finishing University I fell off the wagon with posting a bit as I was very busy and a lot of stuff was going on. Lately I had so many thoughts and ideas I wanted to write about and I really wanted to get back into blogging! I felt I had ‘outgrown’ my old blog a little so I thought this was a great opportunity for a fresh start. I am super excited!

1. Build & become a part of a community

When I used to blog in the past I really loved connecting with other people who have similar interests and outlooks on live to me. The blogging community is so supportive and I find it so inspiring to communicate with other creative minds. Social media is often criticised to distract people from ‘the real world’, their friendships and families but I believe it can be an amazing tool to connect with like-minded people, have your horizon expanded and to make new friends. I am super excited to get to know other bloggers and the readers of this blog and to build a little community that shares ideas and inspiration (#teambrightandbold). The aim of this blog is to inspire each other to live an authentic life, to respect and love the people around us, to also love ourselves and to be kind to the planet. I would love it, if we can learn from and encourage each other to live in alignment with our values.

2. Sort your thoughts & share your ideas

There is just something about getting your thoughts down onto paper (or onto a screen for that matter). Having to spell out your thoughts is incredibly helpful in sorting through them and to have a bit of a ‘declutter’ of your mind. My brain is usually occupied making mental to-do and shopping lists, stressing over the fact that I haven’t hoovered our house for two weeks and musing about the pros and cons of a pumpkin spice latte as opposed to a vanilla latte that there is no room for reflection. However, when I sit down to write and take the time to think about what I am grateful for, what worries me, what makes me happy and what I have learned I feel much calmer, more inspired and tend to be more resilient and content. Writing and particularly blogging is also a great way of sharing your ideas, dreams and thoughts and hearing other people’s views and learning more about what interests me. Writing also has some positive health impacts – according to a study at Texas University it strengthens our immune system and makes us more resilient in coping with mental health issues.

3. Learn new stuff & be accountable

There is a lot of stuff I am very interested in and would like to learn more about but usually can’t motivate myself to research it properly. I have a whole list of things I know (a fair bit) about, but not enough yet to write a comprehensive post. Blogging is a great motivator for me to organise information and fill in some knowledge gaps. Also, a blog is great way of holding yourself accountable – I have many different goals in different areas of my life and if I share them with the public there is that extra little pressure to actually buckle down and work towards them.

4. Become a better writer & be creative

I am a very creative person, I love to make music, knit, think up recipes and – as you have probably gathered – I love writing. From a young age I used to come up with my own little poems and loved editing texts until they sounded good. When I moved to the UK I lost my passion for writing a little bit as I felt I would never be as good writing in my second language (my first language is German by the way). But I decided to not let that stop me and I won’t get any better without practicing. So this is me, filing my writing skills! I also want to use this space to share some of my other creative endeavours, so stay tuned…

5. Develop new skills

Seriously, I feel I have learned so much over the last two weeks about social media, coding, editing pictures etc.! And there is SO MUCH MORE to learn. Blogging is not just writing, there is so much more to it and the internet is such an amazing resource with a million and one (free) tutorials on setting up wordpress, utilising social media and learning HTML. Beside the fact that all these things are great transferable skills and might improve my employability it also makes me appreciate so much more how much hard work professional bloggers, designers and other creatives put into their ‘prodcuts’ that are often available for free for us to enjoy. And it has been so much fun to learn some new skills!

I strongly believe that every human being is creative in one way or another. Whether it is writing poems, or sketching comics, building birds houses, fixing bikes, singing made-up songs… Practicing creativity is something innately human. I believe that we are made in the image of God who created the world. If we practice our creativity we are doing some of what we were made to do. Why don’t you take 5 minutes today to do something creative you love? Draw a doodle, take up your knitting, cook a new recipe or even do a rap in the shower. I guarantee you it will lift your spirits and renew some of your energy.

Leave a comment below to tell me what creative passions you have or just say hello , share this post if you liked it and make sure you come back soon! If you have a blog yourself I would love to swing by so leave your link in the comments section!

Come back on Thursday for my next post!

Until then, stay bright and bold!