Sometimes it takes a pity party to reboot your life.
In the last month or so, the following things have happened to me, and they resulted in my spending a lot of solitary and moody time on the couch reading and watching movies and television.
- My son told me that I was never going to get anywhere with my blog if I didn’t focus my topic. He’s a social media expert, so I imagine he is probably correct.
- My physical therapist told me that my knee probably isn’t going to get much better and that I’m going to have limitations with my range of motion in my surgical knee no matter how much I exercise it.
- I realized that wearing a Fitbit has positive and negative aspects. On one hand, I love the documentation of one’s life because I’m a born and bred social historian. On the other hand, the Fitbit also hands up my failures on a social media platform for me and my Fitbit friends to see.
- I blew up at a party when a friend made a political “joke” that hit a nerve.
- A dear friend told me that I have to get off social media and stop worrying about what other people think – including the comments sections of political posts on Facebook. I encounter so much hatred and ignorance that it makes me frustrated, and resulted in my rude behavior on Easter.
- I missed seeing two annual flower shows that I love because I really didn’t have anyone to go with. My friends are all busy and interesting people with their own lives and it’s very hard to schedule activities together. Having active lives should be a good thing, but not if I have to wait to do something because we can’t schedule a time.
- I read three books with bloggers as the primary characters. They were well written and the authors clearly had knowledge of the blogging world, but it made me look at blogging success through different eyes.
So, I’m declaring the pity party to be over, and this is what I’m doing to change my perspective.
I am realizing that I am a diarist when it comes to writing. I like to write about daily life and I’ll never be a person who has a laser focus on just one thing. And I like to take photographs of the things that interest me. I also like the fact that I’m multi-faceted; I think it makes me a more interesting person. I’m not concerned about blogging sponsorship and I certainly never had any intention of being Pioneer Woman when I started blogging. (And just so we’re clear, even Ree writes about something other than food relatively often.)
I am committing to exercising sixty minutes at least five days a week to keep my body strong and my knee as flexible as possible. The Fitbit should be my friend and not my enemy, so I changed the screen to report only the data that will motivate me. I’m looking for new places to explore on my walks, but will continue my twice-weekly water aerobics, which is kinda like therapy for me. My sturdy German girl muscles love to be challenged!
I’m not going to wait any longer for friends to find time in their schedules to go on an outing with me. I love museums, beautiful gardens, home décor stores and second-hand junking. If no one has time to do these with me, I will go myself. It’s not their fault for being busy; it’s mine for not doing what I want to do. There’s nothing the matter with enjoying an activity alone and it’s certainly better than never going because I’m waiting for someone else. There’s a reason why there are maxims about not waiting until tomorrow. Truly, I’m at that age where tomorrow has an age limit. It’s sad, but it’s a fact.
It’s time to put on my yoga pants and walking shoes and get out there. I might even stop at Home Goods on the way home.
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1) Your son probably is right, but I don’t trust anyone who says they’re a social media expert. It’s a game and they’ve learned to play and monetize it. As you said you’re not interested, so the idea of a diary is perfect for you!
2) You don’t necessarily have to get off Social Media, but you do have to stop reading the comments! I’ll catch myself every now and then getting angry and I’m like what am I…oh yeah that’s why I shouldn’t read comments. People love the “anonymity” of the internet to make outlandish statements, even if it’s linked to their real life persona.
3) Go you! My FitBit and I have a love hate relationship, it worked great when I first got it, but the technology (software) has slowly driven me crazy. I’m very jealous of your water aerobics, I’ve always thought it looked like so much fun.
4) You’re making the right decision for yourself! What I do is if I want to do something I plan it and then I tell people they’re welcome to join me. If it requires ticketed seats that’s a bit trickier, but I’ve seen and done a lot more of what I wanted to see and do! Now I just need to teach my mom how to do this and we’ll all be set.
Sorry for the super long comment! Mostly it’s just a Go You!
Geoff, you are always right on the money in your comments. Thanks for your support. And I am knee deep in Mansfield Park now on audiobook. It’s so different to listen to it rather than see it.
Good for you!
Good for you, Jennie! Your “new resolutions” sound very on target to me. I totally agree about a multi-faceted approach to blogging, and I look forward to what you write next! Just read MY weekly FitBit report, and once again I am dead last in my extended family, but I figure someone has to serve as the person everyone can beat! Plus, one son-in-law is training for a half-marathon, so I’ll never catch him! Have a wonderful day!
I’m like you, Jennie…too many interests to narrow things down to one or two. Some people have a goal to make their blogs a big success, which to them means having a bazillion followers, being very popular, and “working” the social media system. This may be one area where we’re anti-establishment while other areas of our lives are not that way at all. Some early advice I received and try to hold to my standard is to be myself. Since the first time I visited your blog “The Seasoned Dish” (I still love that blog name!), I have enjoyed reading about the things you enjoy. Bravo for sticking with what you love. Our passion for writing shows through our passion for the things we write about. Niche blogs get more traffic. Lifestyle blogs don’t. So what?
The second piece of advice I received was to try to offer something of value. Do people really care about sewing window treatments? Not so much these days. That’s why I included the “creates” part of my blog name…so I can share anything I create for the home, not just curtains. I’ve missed you these last few months. I look forward to reading whatever you decide to share with us! Blessings, my friend~
Kim