Reasons To Blog and Individuality

It’s so easy to get caught up in our own lives. To unwittingly put ourselves at the center of the universe and assume that everybody thinks, acts, and feels exactly as we do. But the reality is we’re all different and we don’t share the same perspectives, feelings, or motivations.

There are all sorts of reasons why people blog. 

Some people are experts. Some vent about their life. Some like voicing their opinions. Some are looking to become great writers. Some use it as a diary. Some are practicing. Some are having fun. Some are simply killing time. And others blog about their problems, goals, or dreams.

There are a million reasons why someone might want to blog.  

My reason to blog

For a long time I wanted to try to help people, I just didn’t know where to start.

“Become the person you needed when you were lost. In this way, you can help others find their way.” – Ed Latimore

Not everything that I read hits me the same. When I read this for the first time, I got chills. 

Years ago I was depressed, unmotivated, and lost. I didn’t bother planning for my future because I just didn’t care. I hated life and the position that I was in more than I can describe. However, I can distinctly remember telling myself at some point, “If I make it through to the other side, I’ll take what I learned and help other people who are feeling how I feel.” 

I promised myself that I would help people who were struggling with the things that I went through. Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, hopelessness. I’ve been there. I know them all. It took me many years to find my way through the abyss. Although at times I felt like I was just stumbling around in the darkness, I made it.

For a long time, I had forgotten about this promise. In part because I’ve largely put that part of my life behind me. It wasn’t until recently that I started thinking about it again. Then after seeing that quote from Ed, I felt a renewed sense of importance to work on things in the direction of trying to help people.

Years ago I started going through through books, videos, podcasts, articles, blogs – I went through anything I could find looking for answers. I became what’s known as a self-help junkie. I was taking in as much information as I could handle. All of the best ideas from all of the best people and I figured, “Surely if I just mash all of these practices from all of these successful people together, I too will become successful!” This mentality lasted just days until I began to see the why this strategy wouldn’t work. 

Everybody’s different.

You’re different from your idol. You’re different from your parents, your friends, your peers, and everyone else. You’re the same in some ways, and different in many others. This isn’t a bad thing. It just means that sometimes there will be situations that will be unique to you. You just have to accept that and handle them to the best of your abilities. That’s all anyone can ask of you.

Although this first attempt was a bit misguided, it started me down a path of self development and research into how to improve myself that I’ve been on ever since.

I’ve spent years working on myself trying to become a better person. I’ve learned a ton about myself and I’ve grown in ways as a person that I didn’t think were possible – this is what I want to share with people.

I started this blog to practice writing, to challenge myself, and to try to help people by sharing my thoughts and experiences. 

I still don’t know what ‘works’ but I’m figuring it out as I go.

Individuality and morning routines

Switching gears a bit. Morning routines are an interesting example. At one point I was seeing a lot of articles and posts related to morning routines – particularly of highly successful, desirable, or great individuals. While they may be fun to look at, I posit that you’re unlikely to discover many life-altering changes by examining morning routines. 

Why? Well let me put it another way – how many of the all time greats do you think spent their time sifting through articles about morning routines? 

It’s a bit of a loaded question, but my guess would be very few. The reason is quite simple. It’s the same reason why they’re driven, individualistic, successful and motivated people to begin with: They know what they’re trying to accomplish (their goals) and they craft their life and routines around said goals.

You could sit there and try to emulate hour for hour what Bill Gates does or Warren Buffett or any number of other impressive individuals. But the reality of it is that you’ll realize it’s only one piece of the puzzle. You still don’t have their knowledge, background, experience, perspective, any of it. Everyone’s different. So what works for them simply may not even work for you.

They’ve learned what works best for them through a process of trial and error, creativity, and learning from others. Having a holistic understanding of why certain habits are practiced can be eye-opening. It gives you a perspective and understanding that you otherwise couldn’t appreciate. If your idol wakes up at 4:00 am every day and does a 2 hour workout before work, instead of trying to blindly apply it to your own life, try understanding why they do it. 

Why did Kobe wake up at 4:00 am and practice for 2 hours every morning? Simple. By doing so he could maximize the amount of training (including rest in between) he can do daily. If he waited until 9:00 am to do his first training session he could get in 2 maybe 3 sessions. By waking up at 4 am, he could get 4 sessions in. 

We all get 24 hours. 

Now, could we all adopt the Kobe morning routine of waking up at 4 am and hitting the gym? 

Sure, but I don’t know a single person willing, let alone able, to work out 4 times a day. This routine was unique to Kobe, crafted by Kobe, to suit the needs of Kobe.

How does this apply to you?

Think about your needs. Think about your goals, values, and schedule. Then craft routines tailored to specifically for you. This idea of “copy and pasting” the routines of great people in an attempt to mimic their results is misguided and inefficient. Taking pieces, experimenting, and learning is great, but realize there is a balance. We all have to find what works for us and that’s a process.

That being said, there are correlations in some habits and schedules of great people. 

The most obvious of which being waking up early. Why? Again, everyone gets the same 24 hours. The earlier you wake up, the more things you can fit into one day. Simple as that.

This is an extreme example, but let’s say you decide to sleep on average 1 hour less each night for the next 24 years. Obviously that’s a very long time, but still. Over the course of the next 24 years, you would be awake, functioning, and able to do things for 8760 hours longer than if you were to maintain current sleeping habits.

THAT’S AN ENTIRE YEAR.

Everyone needs sleep, it’s certainly very important, and I’m not suggesting we all start depriving ourselves of sleep. But that’s just crazy to think about.