Writing is a healthy way to express yourself, and really helps give you a chance to let go of things that are dragging you down. Therapists have long extolled the virtues of cathartic writing, the process of keeping a journal and recording everything that brings you joy, scares you, makes you angry or sad.Often seeing it on a page is enough to let the writer move on rather than needing to have a confrontation with someone or keeping it locked inside where it will continue to fester.
Cathartic Writing
The word catharsis comes from the Greek for “to cleanse” or “to purge”. When you use writing for catharsis, you are purging emotions by acknowledging them, experiencing them again and, hopefully, releasing them. Most often, a private journal is used for this process, but now we can share by blogging and perhaps help others who may be going through similar things and realize they are not alone in their feelings. In blogs, you can write as if you are speaking to your best friend or confidant, and describe funny things that happen in daily life, make light of misunderstandings in relationships, poke fun at yourself, your parenting skills, or your husband’s hygiene. As long as you write with honesty, you will lower your stress levels and feel unburdened. You may also learn a great deal about yourself. Reading your own entries, you will notice patterns in your behavior and realize that there are things you can work harder on.
Planning For The Future
Successful people plan ahead and maintain high expectations, even in the face of adversity. Don’t be afraid to dream big. If you want to do something fun, like take a trip to Italy, for example, write about it. A blog entry could be a trip budget, and how much you need to set aside each month to make it happen by next year. Subsequent follow up posts could detail how you are doing with the savings, and describing any setbacks that you are having to overcome. Weight loss and exercise programs are other great projects to share. If you publish your goals you are making yourself accountable, not just to yourself, but to your readers. Describing the challenges and getting feedback from subscribers will keep you on track. It’s amazing what you can force yourself to accomplish when you have an audience.
Sharing Successes and Failures
We are all in the process of learning, growing, changing, hopefully for the better. Sharing our experiences outside of our small social circle helps others who are going through similar things.
Share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and you are guaranteed to touch the lives of many. Be prepared to get crazy comments from readers though. Usually, when you first start out, it will be friends and family who read your posts, and hopefully they will be supportive. It is good etiquette to respond to comments, but don’t feel like you have to argue with Comment Trolls who will slam you just to try to start a drawn out cyber argument. They aren’t trying to have a rational discussion, so shut them down with a simple, “Thanks for your opinion.”
This article on successful content marketing strategies was prepared by Travis Lee in tandem with SEOMap – the keyword strategy experts.
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