9 Life Lessons I've Learned in 9 Years of Blogging

What life lessons can you learn from blogging?

If you had told me nine years ago when I started blogging that I would still be blogging today, I probably would’ve laughed. I had no real plans for the blog when I started. I only knew that I’d been a writer all my life and I simply had to write. Since I’d all but given up my freelance writing career after my first daughter was born and finishing my novel didn’t seem too likely anytime soon with a toddler and another baby on the way, I decided to try blogging. It might be fun, I thought. And it just might help me keep my sanity.

Back then, blogs were really just like online journals. I thought I could write about the adorable things my girls did and said, as well as keep track of our homeschool adventures. Things have changed since then and somewhere along the way, my blog became my business — my work at home outlet to create and to bring in a little income to help our family along.

As I look back on the time now, I realize that blogging has taught me some lessons these past nine years that really apply to life in general, not just blogging. These are the kinds of things that all moms learn (or should) so that we don’t get lost in the day to day and forget who we are, and who we are becoming. Life is a process, after all.

9 Life Lessons from 9 Years of Blogging

The value of creativity

As moms, we often feel spent. We pour out the best of ourselves into our kids and our husbands and all of the responsibilities that go along with that. We don’t begrudge those things. We just need a little bit of creativity to fill up those tanks again. Whether you like to sew or knit or quilt or paint or write, do something that allows you to be creative. Schedule it into your life like you would any other important appointment and keep it. God created us to be creative and that matters. Blogging has given me a creative outlet and allowed me to learn new skills to fuel that creative fire.

Comparison is the thief of joy

In the blogging world, we have things like stats. Who has more followers? Who has more page views? Who has a prettier blog design? Who makes more money? Eventually I realized that stats don’t really matter. Don’t compare your kids to other kids. Don’t compare your homeschool to other homeschools. Don’t compare your marriage to other marriages. You get the idea. Run your own race.

The importance of preserving memories

When you’re a young mom and you’ve got littles running around and you feel like you’re doing well just to get through the day without Cheerios all over the floor, you feel like you don’t have time to collect your thoughts, let alone create a scrapbook. It’s true, I know, I’ve been there. However, I would encourage you to take those little snippets of life, those funny little phrases you think you’ll never forget, and write them down. A plain old notebook will do. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy at all and it definitely doesn’t have to be a blog. It doesn’t even have to be complete sentences. Just take 10-15 minutes once a week and write them down. You’ll be glad you did later.

Community matters

I’m an introvert and an observer by nature. Blogging has stretched me to reach out in community with other bloggers, especially homeschool bloggers. We share the same experiences of blogging, being at home to educate our children, and the challenges of balancing those things. I’ve made so many great friends through blogging! My daughters have become friends with other homeschool bloggers’ children, too. It’s a supportive community and I would’ve missed that without blogging. Whether you blog or not, find your tribe. It can be online or in your local area. Don’t miss those connections even if you’re an introvert. Moms need community.

The power of following your passions

Likely if you feel strongly about something, it’s a sign that you should pursue it. Having a God-given passion for something helps you to grow and mature as a human being. Don’t forget that even moms are entitled to opinions and interests. I’m passionate about writing and I’m passionate about homeschooling and blogging has been a great way to bring those two passions together. I also love to share my faith and encouragement with other moms. Blogging is a great way to do that as well. What is your passion and how can you pursue it in your life?

Raising daughters with hopes and dreams

I think it’s essential that my daughters understand that they have potential and purpose in God’s plan. Whether they become stay-at-home moms or pursue careers, I want to encourage their hopes and dreams.

Life is hard, of course. However, it’s even harder without hope or a dream to chase.

By seeing that you don’t have to set aside every part of your identity to be a mom, they know that they can be creative entrepreneurs one day. They also know that the reality of daily life doesn’t make that easy. They see me make decisions and set aside my plans to do the hard things in life. Doing the right thing isn’t the easy thing. Something as seemingly unimportant as blogging can provide many teachable moments for our children.

Taking time to process

Sometimes life is so crazy busy that you don’t take the time you need to decompress and process events. As moms we’re expected to hold not only ourselves together, but everyone else as well! I’ve found that the laundry will wait, even if I need to take a breather.

All those things that we juggle will probably still be there waiting — and we might be better equipped to handle them — if we take some time to journal or spend time reading the Bible or listening to favorite music or whatever we need to do to process. Blogging has helped me in that respect because I put my thoughts into words through blogging.
The freedom of flexibility

I used to be obsessed with planning. I wanted to know every little detail ahead of time so I could know what to expect in any situation. I had the same goals for blogging. I wanted to be super consistent. Stick to certain themes. A regular blogging schedule, three times a week without fail. But why? I came to realize the value of quality over quantity. That’s true for blogging and for life. Once I allowed the freedom to be flexible, the joy came back into my writing. It worked the same way with our homeschooling. Flexibility led us down the road of delight-directed homeschooling and it has been great for us.

Perseverance

It’s human nature to want to give up when things get too hard. However, we’re called to persevere. God values perseverance and tells us so many times in the Bible. I’ve wanted to give up blogging on numerous occasions over the last nine years, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve learned new skills, learned to change when I needed to, and stuck to my writing even when it felt like too much effort. Being faithful with the talents God has given us requires perseverance.

These are nine of the life lessons I’ve learned from blogging over the last nine years.

If you’re a blogger, what have you learned from your experience? If you’re not a blogger, do you find these to be essential lessons in your life, too? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

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Sara

Author/Speaker/Consultant at Heart and Soul Homeschooling

Sara is a homeschool mom to 3 creative girls. She holds a degree in Social Work specializing in early childhood development, which led to her interest in individualized educational options like homeschooling. She believes that learning should be a lifelong adventure, not just a checklist to get through. She is a writer, avid reader, introvert (INFJ), and dreamer of dreams.