After 200 Likes

I am truly honored right now. In less than 2 years of blogging and under 100 blog post, I hit 200 likes! Sure this is small for some while I thers can get more than 200 views off one post, but considering I juggle multiple balls (family, self, career, home, etc.) throughout life while running a small blog site I will take this as another victory!

This milestone has me reflecting on my blogging journey and where it can take me. The determination I had in the beginning from planning this blog site to attending free blogging and writing classes to writing blogs during 30-minute lunch breaks at work just to think and plan for the next topic I feel passionate about. I set goals like these for each blog post; however, one goal stands out the most with this milestone and that is overcoming my fear of actually sharing my work to social media, particularly Facebook.

Listen, at first I struggled with confidence of sharing my blogs on social media. I was (and still am) very confident in my writing. After completing a blog I would hit post to this site with all the confidence in the world that this blog will be better than the last. I took the time to think of tags and topics that would attract similar bloggers whom I have never met in person to view my blog posts, and it works! The views and likes come in feeding my confidence to a point beyond satisfaction, gluttony levels. OK, then I share it to my Twitter page and with others through the #writerslift threads and similar hashtags with threads that appear on my timeline. The positive responses and views come in, cool. Next up, LinkedIn because I view this site as a business; therefore, I need to keep promoting my work like an ad. From LinkedIn I networked with groups of bloggers who use it in the day way. But then there’s Facebook, and suddenly I find myself contemplating whether or not to share my blog. Sometimes the contemplation was so bad I had more confidence sharing it through the Instagram-to-Facebook Stories and Reels connection rather than an actual post that last forever.

Some would ask why don’t I just skip sharing on Facebook? The answer is I actually know my Facebook friends or have interacted with each at least once in my life. Facebook was the first social network I joined followed by MySpace, Black Planet, and this one social network I cannot remember the name of at the moment but it did have a little run in the mid2000s. Facebook is where I am friends with close family, distant relatives, my hometown of Johnston/Edgefield County SC, childhood friends, high school and college friends and classmates, former and current coworkers, etc. Of course I should have no shame in sharing my blog, but the curse of comparing my post on social media to others in the same circle hit hard when the blog was posted. Sometimes I felt I wouldn’t be noticed by Facebook friends and family or that my blog would not be good enough when compared to others. Imposter syndrome was the case I constantly fought. That feeling of not belonging or measuring up to others when you are in the field. Just when I thought I finally overcame it to share blog post on Facebook, it would come back resulting in delays and wasted time. In this case, it involves people I actually know.

So, how do I overcome the fear of sharing my blogs on Facebook so people I know will see it? That’s not an easy answer for me, but I dive in. I post it anyways and move on. The right people will see it, click on the link, like, and maybe comment. It has made all the difference to boost my confidence in blogging.

I can honestly tell you I enjoy writing and blogging. I am committed to doing what I love while adapting to the growth I have gained from blogging. You, the audience, have made this 200 likes possible. To me that means when you hit the like button my blog touched you. Whether it’s the entire blog, a paragraph, or even a sentence, those likes are greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for supporting The Book of Think Pieces with likes. Family, friends, writers, and all I encourage you to keep me lifted up by likes and support. While you are here please like others work and support those who support you.

Thank you all for the likes! It only goes up from here!

Preston T.