(Not) Blogging on a Regular Basis

On numerous occasions, I have intended to sit down and blog. Great ideas for topics have struck me, and I have composed wonderful ways of articulating those ideas in my head. There are mornings where I have woken up and thought, "today is a good day to blog." Or I have been falling asleep on a Sunday night with the firm commitment to blog every day that week. Or at least 4 days. Maybe 3. Okay, at LEAST 2. But if I did one, I would be happy.

Yet, I haven't blogged in over a year.

And I am not alone in this. I have seen plenty of friends set up blogs, being really into them for the first few weeks, or first few days. Then, there is a conspicuous absence of blogging for an extended period of time. This is frequently followed by a post that apologizes for the lack of recent blogging, with a statement of ongoing intention to resume regular posts. This intention may or may not result in the actual resumption of blogging behavior, but if it does, sputters out even faster than the original attempt. Then eventually, there is another blog about not blogging consistently, paired with another attempt to do so. Lather, rinse, (may or may not) repeat.

I will disclaim, however, that I do have at least 3 or 4 friends who blog on a regular basis with astounding eloquence. But most people I know who start a blog, fall into the vicious cycle (or some variation thereof) described above. I am one of them. I wonder what it is about blogging that is like dieting and exercise. How often do we commit to doing those things, with strong intention and motivation, only to let them fall by the wayside after a few weeks? Similarities can be seen in other volitional activities too, such as keeping in touch with friends, quitting bad habits, and so on. Thus, I guess the question, and possible answers, are not specific to blogging. The fact that blogs retain a public history of activity, makes them an easy target to observe lapsed behavior.

I write this not to scorn friends or readers who have not followed through on their blogging intentions. Hell, I am at the top of the guilty list. Upon reflecting through my own lacking blogging habits, I often wonder what it is that has stopped me from following through when I feel motivated to do so, and have ideas that are inspired enough to be legitimately encouraging. I certainly have time in my week to do at least two. I have enough interests to put up material that would not come off as overly repetitive. I typically feel a sense of accomplishment when I do put up a post. So what is it then that keeps me from blogging? Drum roll please....




I have no idea.

Yes, that was incredibly anticlimactic. But then, so have been my intentions to blog. I'd like to think that by writing this, I might work through whatever barrier it is, but I cannot promise I will resume writing on a regular basis, or at least maintain that once I try. I wonder what other lapsed bloggers perceive as their barriers. Is it the lack of anticipated fulfillment after they begin? Is it disappointment with readership or desired comments? Is it that blogging gets demoted to a lower priority when life gets busy? Is it too much effort to actually WRITE out the great ideas that inspired the blog creation in the first place? If anything, I suspect the latter is my barrier, coupled with slight feelings of guilt for spending time on composing self-actualizing streams of consciousness into text.

Whatever the case is, I do like that this outlet is here if I need it. That alone can be quite encouraging. The only way I will resume blogging regularly, and continue to do so, is through intrinsic motivation. I have to write for me, about what I want, and feel rewarded by the activity itself. In this moment it feels good to have written SOMEthing. And in this moment I have plenty of ideas for future posts that have been on my mind for awhile.

Now let's just see if those thoughts find the light of day on my blog tomorrow, or even next week....