In the 8 months since I started my blog I’ve gotten to know dozens of bloggers. While each one has his or her own unique interests and opinions, I think it’s fair to say we all agree on one thing: a blog is a phenomenal personal development tool. Here are some reasons why:
Goal Setting: Setting goals is a fundamental component of any personal development program. While there are a few different variations, it really comes down to one basic idea: write down your goals. A blog provides a great platform for writing down your goals and provides a place where you can review them on a regular basis.
Accountability: When you share your goals on your blog, you will benefit from the accountability that comes with telling people about your goals. I wrote a marketing plan for my blog at the end of December. Any time somebody comments on the plan, I feel much more compelled to check if I’m actually sticking to that plan.
Tracking Progress: Since you will be reviewing your goals almost daily in some capacity, a blog will give you a great platform for tracking your progress towards a particular goal. Let’s say you have an income goal. You could write a monthly blog post where you publish your income report. After you have written that post for a few months you will have a progress report.
Feedback: Feedback is one of the most powerful reasons a blog is an awesome personal development tool. Let’s say you are working towards a particular goal and you are continually spinning your wheels. A blog gives you the perfect platform to get some feedback from people who may have accomplished exactly what you are trying to accomplish. It can actually save you years of trial and error in getting to your goals.
Mastermind: Almost by default, when you become a blogger you become part of a mastermind group of like-minded people. We might have many different subjects that we write about and we might have our blog for different reasons. But at the end of the day we’re part of a community full of people who want to help each other succeed and accomplish our goals. Regardless of what you are trying to do with your blog you’ll find so many people you can reach out to who are more than willing to help you. Paying it forward comes with the territory.
Relationships: The relationships you form as a blogger will have a tremendous impact on your life personally and professionally. You will not only evolve as a person, but you will have a network of contacts that is not limited by geographic boundaries. A month back, one of the bloggers I know lost his job. The outpouring of help was so strong that another blogger even wrote a blog post about why an employer should hire the blogger who lost his job. Considering half of us have never met in person, that should give you an idea of what a profound influence these relationships can have on your life.
Commitment and Consistency: When it comes down to it, commitment and consistency are fundamental to getting anywhere with personal development. A blog can bring commitment and consistency into your life. If you expect to go through a course once and have your life dramatically changed, it’s time for a reality check. Yes, all this personal development stuff does work. If you really want to make a change, you just have to do it as often as you brush your teeth. EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Do I think everybody shouldstart a blog? Absolutely. You don’t need to do it for the money. Use it as a platform for personal growth. The money is just a fringe benefit. According to my friend Nicole Crimaldi, a blog is one of the best career insurance policies you could ever invest in. Get started today and in 6 months you’ll be blown away by how much your life has changed.
Do you have a blog? If so, has it helped with your personal development? Please share your experiences in the comments below.
Photo by Anonymous Account
Love this post, Srinivas, and I completely agree that a blog is a great personal development tool. In fact, my therapist said I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t been working on Positively Present for the past year. Great insights here. Thank you!
@Dani: I think that’s great that. I always wonder how much further I would have come if I started my blog a few years ago. I think it’s a great tool for self expression and self exploration.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes!!
I couldn’t agree more. Deciding to create and display my blog has not only kept me accountable, but it’s kept me motivated. Funny that the subject of the blog is personal development, and that is the very effect it has on it’s author.
Great post!
I have often said that writing is good for my soul. Without my blog, I don’t think I would be as focused or disciplined to write. Blogging is also a form of self-therapy for me. I may never be a “problogger,” but my soul will always be well because I blog – and that’s more than enough for me.
Srinivas, thanks for bringing to light the important connection between blogging and personal development.
Alex,
Thanks for the comments. I would have to agree that writing is good for the soul. I like the idea that maybe you’ll never be a “problogger” but it’s always going to be something you do. I think the genuine passion that people have for their blog is very obvious. It’s only in the last few weeks I”ve realized that I’ve made progress in so many other areas of of my life due to my blog.
I love this post. I know that my blog creates opportunities for personal development and also to get awareness for readers that they are not alone in their struggles.
It is a great place to tell the truth about my life. As a life coach people often think (or it is my perception) that we must have our lives handled. Even though I know the tools, use them daily , I notice every day my challenge in making myself a priority. I love that I attract clients who are mirrors for my life because we grow and learn together.
Life is a beautiful journey and our darkest moments can create the most amazing lessons. When we blog about them and tell the truth, we bring light to them which helps us to change. Thanks for your wisdom
All the best,
Gerrianne
Gerriane,
You make a really interesting point. Most of us probably think that people who are life coaches have it all handled and all together. Daily use of all the personal development tools we have at our disposal is essential to making them work. A blog gives you a great way to implement daily use into your life.
So true!
You are absolutely right, Srinivas. Since I started my blog, I have learned so much, much more than I could have hoped for. There are so many dimensions to a blog and that’s one of the things that makes blogging so exciting. You have to blog to know how this feels and to know what benefits it has. Good write-up.
@Bart: It sounds really cliche, but my blog has changed my life in ways that I never predicted. It’s connected me to a whole world of interesting people and really helped me to focus on achieving my goals.
Hi Srinivas .. I couldn’t agree more – with the changes it’s made to life. I certainly didn’t start my blog to become part of this wonderful community .. I am amazed at the support personal and blog -wise that one gets .. it’s opened my eyes to more of the world than I could have imagined.
It’s great to learn you’ve achieved and learnt so much in your blogging life – what does the future hold .. = lots!!
Have a good weekend .. Hilary
I think it’s really amazing when you look at those people who have persisted for 15 months to 2 years even when there was not a ton of people reading their stuff. I always keep that in mind when I think about the fact that my traffic growth hasn’t been really explosive in any way.
Great points here Srinivas and so true. I have experienced all those points and to me the other big advantage is authenticity in being to expose more about your self to others and then in return to learn more about yourself which doesn’t happen unless you uncover those truths outside the normal day-to-day discussions. Blogging in personal development opens topics you wouldn’t normally explore and it adds so much to the experience.
It’s funny you mention the piece about authenticity. That seems to be one of the most important things. I’ve noticed the more you share of who you really are, the more people tend to be interested in what you write. I’ve gone definitely explored topics I never thought I would.
hey Srinivas
first, you have an interesting name. Does it have a meaning?
second- yes. blogs are a self-discovery tool. and …a field of exploration!
but not many are really worth spending time on. not many individual.
have you found the blogs you really liked, and why?
kindest regards!
Martyna
I’m actually not sure what the meaning of my name is. I should probably ask my parents :). I think that you have to be selective about what blogs you spend time on. I have a pretty full RSS reader, but I am trying every day to clean it up and delete those blogs that I don’t read on a regular basis.
Great post!! I’m just about to post a ‘progress report’ on my blog and this post really made me smile. The biggest benefit I have found keeping a blog is the accountability. I know I have to keep posting about how I am progressing and that keeps me on track. Hell, I don’t HAVE to post anything but I’m enjoying blogging so much and am so pleased and delighted by my progress, that I hope to get to my goal and inspire others along the way.
Great blog by the way!
@McTofu: I’m actually about to do the same. Since Monday is march 1st and we’re 2 months into 2010 it seems like a perfect time to do a check in and goal review post. I love using it as a progress report mechanism. That’s one of the most useful things about it.
I just started a personal blog, and sometimes I get really lazy, so this is really encouraging, Thanks!
I agree – a blog is a great tool for personal development. In addition to what you mentioned above, I find that by the time I get ready to post something to my blog and share it with the world– I’ve already come to a place of solace regarding whatever I’m posting about… and often times, my understanding grows even deeper when I get comments.
It’s also a great way to connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise get to connect with, or people you wouldn’t get to connect with nearly as often if you didn’t have the blog.
I think the connections alone take your personal development efforts up exponentially. Getting around people who can help you get to your goals is key. A blog provides you with access to so many people that you didn’t have a connection to before.
These are really true points, particularly about the accountability aspect. I find – especially with exercise, that if I write about it, I do it more. I seek out that inspiration, and therefore change my habits to go along with that.
Great truths here!
Nice post! I agree, a blog is definitely great for keeping you accountable with your goals. These days though I tend to use it more as a reassurance that I can be successful.
I’m still in the early stages of this blogging thing, but your article definitely made sense to me. Someone asked me recently what my blog was going to be about, and it was hard for me to give an articulate answer to them.
Your article touched on so many of the things I look forward to experiencing as I go through my own journey of personal development. Now all I have to say is, “Read this and you will understand.”
Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Another benefit of my blog is that I think it has helped me find my voice. I think I’m often finding interesting tidbits here and there about life, but finding a way to express them in a way this both understandable and meaningful can be a challenge. A blog is a great way to help you find the ways to say what you need to say.
Thanks for your post. I found it very informative and encouraging!
Great post Srinivas,Whatever you have mentioned does happens and happens big time.the blogger you have mentioned above is Matt Chevy and Danny Brown did the post for him, both of them are amazing in sharing great stuff as you do which is the result of their hard work.The connections the feel, the self-confidence everything is just amazing in blogging.
Thanks for sharing you post and yes Skool of life is the place where students should be.
I just started a blog to help me on my way to a healthier and more happy life. I’ve got the idea from a blog called ZenHabits before I stumbled onto this blog. But I think it’s a great way to help me acomplish my goals