Episode 38 of the ProBlogger podcast is focused on something I’ve learned in the course of the past year that I think has the potential to transform not only your blogging, but many areas of your life.
Today’s episode is personal – my personal journey of the last nine months. I talked about it at the ProBlogger event a few weeks ago now in my opening keynote – an unexpected topic perhaps, but one that I think is so useful as the foundation of everything, including building a profitable blog.
The question I want to ask you today is the question we get asked all the time: “how are you?”. Not your blog, not your business, but you?
Not just answering “good”, or “busy”, but finding out how are you really? Don’t gloss over the question – really ponder the answer.
The biggest lesson in blogging I’ve learned this year, is that if I want my blog to shine, I need to move beyond the minutiae of monetising, finding readers, creating content – I need to work on making myself shine. The wellbeing of my blogs is directly linked to the wellbeing of me, and I had been letting myself go.
Late last year I went to the doctor for my annual health checkup, and what he told me changed the trajectory of not only my life, but my blogs as well. He gave me a list of things to work on to get my health back up to speed – a whole list. It was stuff I already knew but had never really done anything about. Seeing it there, in list form, was confronting.
I left that doctor’s office feeling pretty low. I didn’t sleep well that night, as I thought about all the things I needed to change in my life. I even pondered the stuff that the doctor didn’t know, but that I knew was an issue.
The story I want to tell you today is how that day was a pivot point for me, and how putting my health and wellbeing first has made such an impact on my blogs and my work ever since.
I hope it inspires you to examine the parts of your life that need changing, to inspire you to take your health seriously and to stop forgetting to exercise, forgetting to eat well, forgetting to get your priorities in order as we churn on through the hamster wheel of work. I hope it helps you set a solid foundation from which your blogs and online endeavours can grow.
I’d also love to hear your feedback on today’s episode, either here or at ProBlogger.com, and your answer to the question: “how are you?”.
Further Reading:
- Sitting is the New Smoking: Sydney Morning Herald
- How to Get in Shape after Being Sedentary: LiveStrong
- Five Best Standing Desks: LifeHacker
- The 5:2 Fast Diet: How Does the Fast Diet Work?: TheFastDiet.co.uk
- The Important of Rest and Relaxation: University of Washington
- The Practice of Stillness: Michael Hyatt
My life changed March 11, 2010. I was handed a diagnosis for diabetes, and I went from doctor-phobe to a person who injects insulin 4 to 5 times a day, and constantly checks his blood sugar.
I learned that I needed to keep my needs in check, and to pay attention to them. Unfortunately my career choice is not conducive to good blood sugar control, so I have since stepped up and changed trajectory into blogging full time. I dabbled a bit here and there since 2008 – even running through the original build a better blog in 31 days series of blog posts! This comes here at a great time. Time to really get in gear!
Mid-life occupational ailments are crippling the society. We, a group of friends, realized it when one of us started with lower backache and another with some problem with the wrist. But we must take action as early as we see the first indications of life-style issues. We are now fully (we hope so!) fit, thanks to a yoga routine and inclusion of more outdoor activity.