Are You Holding Back On Something Too Obvious to Share?

CC by 2.0 JUST DO IT. Paper Fold by the_fafa

Since this is Connected Educator Month, I thought I would do a post about Blogging (activities for days 14 and 15 in the Connected Educator Starter Kit).

I've always thought that I should be blogging more. By the number of posts on this particular blog, you may see why. But I have learned three basic things that I keep in mind to encourage me to blog and share more.

Truth 1: You just need to start blogging. Just. Do. It. 

I know that I need to work on my writing skills. When I was younger,  I wrote short stories, poetry and other things when I knew that only a few people were going to be reading them. I wasn't afraid to pass it to my best friend who just wanted to read it for the exciting tales I would tell. Writing for an audience takes it to a whole other level. We want it to be great. We want it to go over well. That's why we push our kids to write for an audience - to up their game and put out a better product.

Well some of us get are daunted by expressing our opinions on a very public way. Blogging seems scary to some of us.  But the secret to getting better is you just have to do it. The more you read other blogs and the more you write, the better you get.

My husband is a writer and writes on his own blog a lot. One of the most common questions aspiring writers ask is how they can be a better writer. More or less the answer given is usually, "Read more. Write more."  Just do it!

Truth 2: Everyone has something to share. Really.

Yes, we all have something to share. Our vantage points are valuable, believe it or not. There have been whole articles written about this. In this book, "Anything You Want", Derek Sivers talks about the "Obvious to You. Amazing to Others."  Check out Derek's video here. Your experiences are valuable, trust me!

Truth 3: Writing about your experiences helps you reflect. This is big.

Those who blog regularly say they reflect more about their professional practices and philosophy. Here's an article about it as well. Because your reflections are now made publicly available on a blog, you also have the opportunity to hear from other educators in the form of feedback. Connecting with other educators promotes learning something TOGETHER. My personal belief is that I learn things more deeply and completely when I learn about it with someone else.

So what are you waiting for? Go get your own blog today!