This blog is about me. But it's not just for me.
I recently listened to a writer whose work I admire advise her audience to write to please one person--yourself. I respectfully disagree. This blog is for me, for sure, but it is also for you. It is for anyone who wants to become more fully herself.
My motivations are both selfish, or self-indulgent, and generous. The selfish motivation is my desire to be heard. Self-indulgent, I want to contemplate and understand myself, or maybe just admire my own mystery. The generous part stems from what I believe about the value of expression. The purpose may be personal, but the impact, which is unpredictable, could inspire someone else. Words have power, they have the potential to change someone's life. Why do we love TED talks, podcasts, and self-help books? Why do we revere good movies, quotes, music, poetry? Because they nourish something deep inside of us. Because we don't just crave inspiration--we need it.
My selfish hope is that writing this blog will help me become more myself. I have always used writing as a medium for processing and discovering who I am. It's how I access my inner wisdom. But beyond that, my motivation is to share what I learn. To give the world a glimpse of my true self. Carl Rogers, in his later years, confessed that he never felt like he truly belonged. But writing gave him a sense of connection with the world. He described it as sending missives out to sea in bottles and having them be received, and returned to him. I, too, desire this sense of connection. I want to share my perspective.
Barbara Sher believes everyone is a genius, by definition. We all have original vision, a perspective that is ours alone. Some would even argue that it's not selfish to share it--it's selfish not to. Sharing your genius is your duty to humanity. I think I agree. It's scary though, because if that premise is true--if we all have a perspective that is utterly unique--then that means no one else will completely understand it, or us. But that is what makes our vision a gift; that's what makes it so valuable.
So here we go, here is my attempt to change the world. I hope my words and ideas inspire you.
I recently listened to a writer whose work I admire advise her audience to write to please one person--yourself. I respectfully disagree. This blog is for me, for sure, but it is also for you. It is for anyone who wants to become more fully herself.
My motivations are both selfish, or self-indulgent, and generous. The selfish motivation is my desire to be heard. Self-indulgent, I want to contemplate and understand myself, or maybe just admire my own mystery. The generous part stems from what I believe about the value of expression. The purpose may be personal, but the impact, which is unpredictable, could inspire someone else. Words have power, they have the potential to change someone's life. Why do we love TED talks, podcasts, and self-help books? Why do we revere good movies, quotes, music, poetry? Because they nourish something deep inside of us. Because we don't just crave inspiration--we need it.
My selfish hope is that writing this blog will help me become more myself. I have always used writing as a medium for processing and discovering who I am. It's how I access my inner wisdom. But beyond that, my motivation is to share what I learn. To give the world a glimpse of my true self. Carl Rogers, in his later years, confessed that he never felt like he truly belonged. But writing gave him a sense of connection with the world. He described it as sending missives out to sea in bottles and having them be received, and returned to him. I, too, desire this sense of connection. I want to share my perspective.
Barbara Sher believes everyone is a genius, by definition. We all have original vision, a perspective that is ours alone. Some would even argue that it's not selfish to share it--it's selfish not to. Sharing your genius is your duty to humanity. I think I agree. It's scary though, because if that premise is true--if we all have a perspective that is utterly unique--then that means no one else will completely understand it, or us. But that is what makes our vision a gift; that's what makes it so valuable.
So here we go, here is my attempt to change the world. I hope my words and ideas inspire you.
Comments
Post a Comment