Surely you're familiar with that old schoolyard rejoinder!?
I was thinking about this today. You see, it's very difficult to write a blog about your personal daily life and triathlon training and the challenges involved, without making most of the posts sound like one or the other - bragging or complaining.
Sometimes we have great training days. We feel good, our confidence is high, it feels like we're taking on an epic journey and we're successfully on our way. We brag.
Some days are just the opposite. The workouts seem too hard, we can't seem to find our motivation, other aspects of our life that are higher priorities take precedence over training. We don't accomplish what we had hoped, for whatever reason. We're disappointed in ourselves and feel defeated. We complain. Sometimes we even descend into whining.
I have both kinds of days. And everything in between.
It's also difficult not to sound incredibly self-absorbed when you're talking all the time about, well, yourself. It takes a really good blog writer not to make it sound like "All me, all the time". Maybe I'm just not a good enough writer to pull it off, who knows? Or maybe I'm just not a good enough person to pull it off. Then again, maybe I am.
For whatever reasons, I continue to write this blog and describe my journey, as accurately as I know how. I love my life, I love my family, I enjoy most every day, and I'm excited about what the future will bring. I feel extraordinarily fortunate. If you've read this far, thank you for coming along on the ride.
15 comments:
i think when I write my posts they are part therepy, part praise, part kick in the pants. I try to dwell on the negatives since I try not to dwell on my negatives in my 'real' life. I am a prospertiy mentality guy.
Sometimes and I think this applys to you a lot Nancy, the post are just good information, neither positive or negative about yourself. I love that you post multiple times a day and cover a gamut of interesting bits and bytes. Your like a blogline unto yourself.
I agree with Comm. The posts provide good information (I've learned a ton from your posts Nancy) many times neither positive or negative. I think there a good way to learn what works and what doesn't, not only for you but for others. It's a lot like a Weight Watchers meeting, people sharing what they did and what worked and you picking and chosing what you'll try.
Anyway, I love your blog and I love the wide variety of topics you talk about.
Either way, it's good for us. Sometimes complaining online allows us to hold it together in real life, and sometimes bragging online spares our loved ones. The nice thing about blogs - you always have a choice to read or not to read, so if you don't want to listen to bragging/complaining you don't have to! Blog away, Nancy!
I've been wondering the same thing recently. Someone once asked me about those "holiday letters" that have become so popular. I said I did one, but then I felt like it was an experiment in narcissism. I mean everyone who is really a part of my life, who cares, already knows what happened to me over the course of the past year, so why am I sending out a letter recounting it? My blog feels that way at times also, and I've been contemplating whether or not to continue indulging myself in this way...
Well said.
What I would say is that we can only be who we are. In the moment at the moment, honest expression of feeling. Others place the value of complain or brag.
Blogging is a personal thing, we are sharing our lives out there, good and bad!!! I'm never going to "hold back" to try and please others, to do so would be futile!! I love reading blogs..yes i'm and addict and I love reading yours Nancy!!!
Nancy, I have at times also struggled with the idea that people may see bragging or whining. I think what’s important is honesty. We all have good days when we rock and bad days when we suck and bloggers by and large know this. That said, newbie bloggers don’t always have the experience of knowing this, as will readers who do not blog.
I think it’s fair to say that if a person reads you regularly, they will see BALANCE. The problem we all face is that what a person thinks about us is often based on first impressions. So, if they visit on a braggin’ day, they may start off thinking you ARE one – and then it can be hard to temper that judgment.
In the end, we have to remember that these blog things are our diaries and that we’re human. We also have to be willing to accept that because we put them out there for the world to see, the world will form an opinion of us that may not be 100% accurate.
For what it’s worth, I think you have a very balanced approach to your writing. Sometimes you brag and sometimes you whine and you do those things when it’s appropriate.
Keep writing. :)
Your Blog is NOT you, you, you, all the time you.
You spend LOTS of time blogging about friends and people you admire, about interesting and humorous subjects.
Of course, it's usually from your point of view (although, you do just throw lots of things "out there" to see what ensues!) but you have to stand somewhere, right?
It IS YOUR journal after all! :-)
You guys are too kind!! Thank you for your charitable comments.
And yeah, I do like to stir things up a bit - if I had time to write more political stuff I'd spend all my time mired in controversy.
In your case, I'd never think you were doing either. You're just telling us how it is.
The other commenters have done a great job as well telling how it is.
Trouble with telling anybody anything is we have no control over how they will perceive it. Just be you Nancy and that will be awesome!
Yup just brag...I mean blog away...lol.
I don't like to read posts that are "all about me and my super-self and my rigourous training schedule that no one else could possibly do!"...'cause then I, like you, have to ask, yeah, what is this all about? And are they in this for the sheer meida-status they seem to be wanting, which by the way won't really help when one is knee deep in an IM...or if they sound like they are NOT having fun, there is always that option called..... STOP!
I try to focus on just some of the daily cool stuff that happens in my life and how I work that life around a few races a year...they keep me sane and healthy. That's about the extent of it!
Just to let you know, you're blog is a lot of fun to read. I check italmost every day. Never felt you were self absorbed, how can you be with twins? Keep writing and training...
I treat my blog kind of like a diary. I hope people aren't judgemental.
I love reading your blog, thanks for sharing your life with us.
Wow that is so true! Definately depends on the mood or motovation behind the posting, but when it comes to tri training it really is one or the other. You can see bits and pieces of personalties creeping in. Very helpful.
Reading a blog is like dropping in for a visit - you get to hear how your friends are doing, what's on their mind, how they feel about stuff. Sometimes we wish we were so fit that we could have bad days as good as yours! You can judge it or not, learn from it or not, but basically good friends are just here to listen.
Pour me another glass of whatever we're drinking - I'm listening :)
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