Food For Thought Friday

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I was scrolling idly through Pinterest the other day when this quote popped up. It was not a pretty pin, nor did it lead anywhere but the words alone made me linger on the thought and something about it resonated in me.

It’s not a secret that I have been working hard at building my blog up to be something that people want to read and comment on. When I made the decision to go self-hosted I knew that I was at a point of wanting to take blogging more seriously than I had done in the past 4 years. While trying to get pregnant with my first son and realising it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought, I kept a blog that in a way read as a personal diary. It was therapeutic to write my way through that infertility struggle and help other women at the same time, and it did! I was flooded with messages of thanks and I believe following my journey through the three IVF cycles we endured (and the success at the end) gave hope to many women. When I had Cohen I felt misplaced in the blogging world. No longer was I an infertility blogger but I wasn’t quite a mummy blogger either.

Transitioning from something that had completely taken over my life and thoughts for three years, to having a child was a big change. Continuing to blog on that platform didn’t seem to fit anymore, especially after the unexpected (but joyful!) arrival of baby number two in quick succession. Where did I fit into that blogging world? Two under 2 didn’t leave much time to fit it in either and to be quite honest, my brain was complete mush!

With the end of the baby making years behind me – the infertility journey, the pregnancies and the newborns; I felt a bit lost. I made an unsuccessful halfhearted attempt at starting again in June last year but I couldn’t find my way or my words. And if I couldn’t connect with myself, how could I connect with others? What was I missing?

Woman-Thinking

I had moved from Blogger to WordPress and could not for the life of me (at that time) work out where to find other blogs to read or follow and then life got away from me and it fell on the back burner (again).

Fast forward to a couple of months ago and I felt lost and took a break from Facebook to reevaluate my life and priorities. For those who don’t know me well, Facebook and I are like best friends (as one might say, my friends live in my computer!). I was pondering life and loss and new beginnings and the end of an era and ok, I was bored without Facebook! So I went back to my blog and started writing again and this time something clicked. I made the effort to find other blogs to read (Rookie Mommy, you were my first and I thank you for getting me excited about blogging again!) and I realised it is true.

To be interesting to others, you must first be interested.

It’s about building relationships and getting to know people and being supportive. You can’t be interesting to others if you make no effort to be interested in your audience (and that goes for friends too). This is why I always take the time to respond to all comments left on my blog posts, read and comment on others blogs and interact with my readers on Facebook, sharing sneak peaks into my everyday life and getting to know you, the reader and the community I am part of.

What do you think about that quote? Does it resonate with you? How would you interpret the words in your life?

12 thoughts on “Food For Thought Friday

  1. I use the link ups to read around – I must read everyone who links before me, and then if I’ve still time,I’ll read a few after me…that way I get to see new peeps as well as the regulars…I’m not sure on that quote tho, I’ve seen it before but not 100% it works…
    Lydia C. Lee recently posted…Churches #Haunted2015My Profile

    1. Link ups are fabulous! I have found so many great blogs to read and I’m slowly getting to know people which is great. Quotes are one of those things that are totally in the eye of the beholder and can be interpreted in so many different ways, that’s what I love about them 🙂

    1. Thanks Kelly! I love your blog too, it makes me laugh and we are actually very similar in many ways! You’re another of my favourites (but shh!)

  2. I like the quote. I’m not sure how much or how well I practice it though. I often just forget to ask about how others are after they ask me because I just start talking and then we get carried away…
    Vanessa recently posted…Money, Others and SelfMy Profile

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