I survived the 60’s.
The one car, no luxuries, eat what’s on your plate.
That’s what they called validation then.
2 mile walk to kindergarten, by yourself, uphill both ways.
Clean up your room or else.
That was our validation
Do what you're told, don’t talk back, remember your manners.
That was validation in those days.
It’s a different now, thank goodness, but sometimes validation can be considered a dirty word.
When the subject of validation through blogging shows up, I squirm…after all isn't the absolute joy of blogging supposed to be enough?
It came up in a email conversation with Heather a blogger friend, and my answer was predictably, no, of course I don’t blog for validation.
Not me. Uh ha, no way.
Well.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Validation is a great motivator… ask yourself why you blog?
If you asked me a few weeks ago why I blog, I might give you a pat answer, it’s because I love to share my thoughts, and images. Look at the slogan on my blog header, “life and light, through my lens.” if that’s not sharing what is.
But isn’t sharing a form of searching for validation? And isn’t validation a great motivator to do better?
See, it’s not a dirty word after all.
Motivation gets me out there with my camera early on a frosty morning without mittens, or late in the evening when the air is sweating and the bugs rising.and it keeps me out there taking photos. It keeps me long after the dark has slipped down behind the mountains, or before the sun shows up, because this might be the shot that makes my blog post shine.
Motivation has made me a better photographer, a dedicated, learning as much as I can, experiment, and try this, try that, it’s for the blog, kind of enthusiast.
Motivation makes me write, and rewrite, leave it, walk away, come back, rewrite it again, because I am wanting to do this well, and I want you to like it, to read it, and to leave me a comment.
Let’s face it, good validation goes a long way, which is one reason we say nice things on blogs to others. Because we know that it motivates them to keep doing what they do. And we like what they do, and we want them to keep doing it.
Doesn’t it make you feel great when a perfect stranger stumbles onto your blog, leaving a gushing comment, and becomes a follower?
Don’t you feel like “it’s all worth it.” I do.
Really, truly.
It’s good, as long as we don’t allow validation to run our blogging life.
Read about the dark side of validation on Friday.
