Typically, when people start blogging, the first thing they think of is sharing their ideas with other people. They may think how wonderful it will be to help somebody else or they may think how great it will be for people to know who they are or they may think about how much fun it will be.
However, what most people don’t think about when starting to blog is what they will learn from the experience.
One of the pleasant side-effects from blogging is being able to learn from your own mistakes. Sometimes just putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) is enough to bring about a realization that there are things you’ve done in your career could have been done better. In some cases, blogging can even lead to an epiphany (that one moment that make you go “Ah-ha, now I get it!”) Other times, it takes a bit more thought and time than just putting fingers to keys.
Whatever the case may be for you, one of the techniques that works very well in getting to that ‘ah-ha’ moment is taking some time to quietly reflect on your blog posting and the topic your blogging about.
According to Peter Drucker, one should… “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
Some people also partake in the practice of Reflective Meditation.
Hey Einstein, Think About It
You may ask – why not just think about what you’re doing while you’re doing it – which is an excellent question. Many people do think before, during, and after doing something. However, normally, when people are in the act of “doing” they are not also in the act of “learning.” This is because the mind for most people is so engaged in the act being done that it is not open to receiving new information or learning new and different ways of doing things.
A great example of this is talking and listening at the same time. Think of how many times you try to tell a person something and they just don’t seem to get it. More often than not, this is because they are either talking (either out loud or in their head) or they are already thinking about what they are going to say next and they are not fully receptive to what you are saying or the ideas you are trying to convey to them.
Especially in this day and age of doing many things at any given time (multi-tasking), it’s becoming more and more important that we slow down and start spending time thinking and reflecting on the things we do. Blogging is an excellent way to do just that. In the end, to get the most out of your blogging and learning experience, blog about your previous experiences and see what you can share and learn.
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Chris Sprague is a Visionary Servant Leader
He strives to bring out the best in everyone
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Image Sources: tommyland, media.shuttercal.com
