This will be my 861st post since I started this blog.
There have been 126,160 views with 15,335 comments.
Okay, half of those comments are me replying, so it’s really only about 7,500 reader comments.
During the last few months I’ve noticed a few blogs that I’ve followed have decided to stop blogging, while a couple have greatly changed their format or subjects.
I have thought about that. I get that some people lose interest or energy in their blog or need to make a change. Often we start doing something without knowing where it will lead.
From time to time, we need to step outside of what we’re doing and ask ourselves if this is a path we should continue down. Does it still fulfill us or serve a purpose? I’ve always believed in living life intentionally. The things we do should be done for a purpose.
I’m not perfect and often do things because my life has a certain amount of inertia. I always do somethings: morning tea, checking email, writing a blog on Sunday …
Even this post I’m writing feels a bit like a variation of one of the 860 that have been done before. Should I give up this post and try for something completely new and different? Just how many posts like this will my 3,226 followers want to read?
Inertia – Newton’s law. Things at rest stay at rest. Things in motion stay in motion, unless acted on by a force.
There are many forces in our lives: family, friends, health, jobs, and our own wants and desires. Sometimes the course of our life is changed by an outside force. Sometimes we decide to change or just stop and rest.
As a young man, I often had Sunday lunch with my father where we would talk about stuff. One time, while I was discussing the possibility of a major career change, he asked me the question, “So this is a time for an agonizing reappraisal?”
Just before I sat down to write this post I asked myself, “Self, is this a time for an agonizing reappraisal of my blogging and writing habits?”
And the answer came to me: “Nah, I like doing this and now is not the time for change.”
So stop by next Sunday when I might write about our adventures with car shopping or perhaps a rewrite of one of those other 861 posts.
Andrew's View of the Week 
Knowing what you know is motivation for those new bloggers like me. Another enjoyable read 👍🏼
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Thank you!
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Well done, Andrew. Love your posts, they never leave me indifferent.
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Thank you – glad you liked them.
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Wonderful and inspiring
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thank you.
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Were you talking to me, Andrew? Yes, this was the time for me to change the focus of my writing and change my blog completely. You do make a valid point though. It was agonizing to make the changes and I took several months to make this decision. Despite the toll it took on me, I’m glad I didn’t rush it.
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Change doesn’t have to be fast. The important part is that you decide to do something. Sometimes slower is better.
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I’ve been reappraising for two weeks now…inertia is definitely winning and throw in a bout of cabin fever as well. And that doesn’t make sense because we’ve had a mild winter and no restrictions on getting out of the house. So I’m going to shift the blame from myself to the dreary and overcast skies which have been in abundance. Anyway, keep blogging, my friend and so will I.
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Keep writing – it helps!
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Inertia …. “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force”
Pretty much sums me up or more specifically my blogging.
I tend to post fairly frequently until something occurs to stop me. Like having to make space for visiting relatives, which requires me to pack my laptop away. I know I want to write some stuff or publish some photos but I can’t quite achieve the momentum to unpack the laptop. And for some reason although I can, neither my smart phone or my tablet seem up to the task.
Due to family health issues I have been in Australia since last October. I have my laptop with me and have had plenty of subject matter to hand. But until a day or two ago I have not managed to get the laptop out and start the process again.
So what was the external force that set me in motion again ?
I have no idea. Let’s hope I can keep rolling.
Glad you are still here too Andrew.
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Life – health – are two big things that change our course. Hoping things are getting better for you.
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Glad you’re staying here, Andrew! What a great question .. I often find myself muttering about blogging etc but your Dad’s question is terrific! Can I borrow it? 😀
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Borrow, steal, use – please do. 😉
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I too have noticed a lot of blogs I read have become few and far between. Even my own has slowed down over the past couple of years. Not entirely sure why.
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I think there are a lot of factors – running out of topics, few followers, life interfering , losing interest … and it’s a lot of work to keep writing and posting. Few make any money at it so like many hobbies, folks lose motivation and move on to other things.
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I’ve been reappraising for the past year it seems like and I still haven’t come to any great epiphany, blog-wise. Mostly what I lack is time, not interest.
In any case, glad you’re sticking with it!
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Time is a problem. I’m lucky to have the time to spare at the moment.
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You wrote: “There have been 126,160 views with 15,335 comments. Okay, half of those comments are me replying, so it’s really only about 7,500 reader comments.”
So….of those, have you ever replied to one of YOUR replies? And started a comment “war” with yourself? ha! 🙂 ….ah, the dangers of the online presence!
Love catching up with you via your blog!
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I haven’t done that yet, but it’s just a matter of time before I do. Good to hear from you.
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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! 🙂
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Just what I was thinking …
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As you’ve mentioned, it is disconcerting when a blogger simply quits blogging. No warning, no explanation, no good-bye. I suppose they don’t realize that their readers miss them!
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It also makes me wonder if something bad has happened to them. However, I must say that I do respect those who stand up and say, “This isn’t for me anymore, goodbye.” Too often we live our lives without real thought to what we are doing.
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I’ve noticed that too–that people I follow are quitting blogging. There could be lots of reasons but for me, I just enjoy it–the writing and reading. Glad you weren’t announcing something I wouldn’t like!
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The one thing I get concerned about is people who just stop without a decision to stop. They skip a post and then a year’s gone by. Much better to say, “I don’t enjoy this anymore and am going to do something else.” Of course other life events interfere too.
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good plan, I like it just the way it is! I have been messing with mine (blogs and website), trying to simplify things, before hubby retires and we spend more time travelling.
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I like what I’m doing at the moment. Someday that will change – who knows when that will be.
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I suppose I am reappraising but the inertia is winning.
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It the thinking and reflecting that really counts.
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Well, due to relentless poor health (cancer, its treatment, and recovery from changes everything) my blogposts are few and far between but I’m so glad you’re still writing yours. I look forward to them. Sending blessings your way.
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When you are able to post I do like what you write.
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I’m coming up to 500 blog posts and there is definitely a problem. There is a limit (thank God!) to the tales of disaster and death from the RAF and you then have to start thinking about what else there is in your (past) life that might be interesting to people across the world. Personally I am only too happy to hear and see photographs of life in a foreign country. A butterfly. A bird. Even an ordinary street. They will be nothing like Nottingham and therefore interesting to anyone outside the USA.
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There are times I sit in front of the screen and wonder if I really have anything new to say.
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Fan not Dan. I should proofread my comments!
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🙂 I still understood what you meant.
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I also read and rarely comment. But I am.a.Dan of.your Friday wisdom because they crack.me up or make me ponder.
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I’m glad you enjoy those. I have fun trying to do a new one every week.
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Yes inertia is a good word and it can just sneak up on you. I liked how Newton put it. If you stop it is SO difficult to get going again. I stopped for a year🙄 and that year felt like a month. Still not fully back though. But like Roberta mentioned I also like sticky breaking into other people’s happenings.
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I do like that way of describing it.
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Hi, I read more than I comment on – there are probably others who do similar, so please do keep going. I think it is good to review once an a while. I had become so busy with other things my blog took a back seat. In my personal review I wondered if I should stop or go on – by taking the time to think I realised if I posted more regularly I’d enjoy it more. Now I’m using the ‘schedule’ feature so that I can write more than one post during the weeks I have time and one can pop up automatically when I don’t. Without pausing for a review I’d not have had that flash of the obvious. X
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I’ve used the schedule feature in the past, mostly when I’m traveling. It’s a good way to go.
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Inertia! That’s it. That’s the reason. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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That’s my story too. 😉
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I enjoy your blog posts, many are succinct and witty.
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Sometimes I am a bit witty. I do try to keep the word count low.
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I like reading about my blogging friend’s lives. Post like this one that tell me a bit about your life and how you think about things. It’s like having a chat with a friend.
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That’s the best part of blogging.
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I love that question your dad asked. Perfect!
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He asked a lot of good questions like that.
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