Stuck. Double stuck.
Our brains haven’t evolved to stagnate.
That’s where I’m at today. Stuck.
First, I’m stuck because I’ve been looking over some of my recent posts. Too much schlock. Not sure what that means exactly, but it is what I think of some recent writing. Like I’ve been mailing it in, posting just to post. Not what I want to do.
What got me started down the path? Another bozo on the big blog bus wrote a post that got me thinking.
He asked a question that had been wandering around in the back of my brain for a while. I hope I can be forgiven for rephrasing the question somewhat.
The writer is Dan Scocco, and the post asks this question -
Does your writing pass the ‘so what’ test?
He referred to another blogger, Chris Garrett, who wrote this -
Why? Because if you do then they are more likely to take your advice.
So What? Because if they take your advice they are more likely to benefit and therefore value it.
So What? If they value your advice they are more likely to spend money with you or tell their friends.
So What? That is where long term growth and value comes from. Who, What and So What? | Chris Garrett on New Media (20 August 2009)
Ken Wilber is a writer and philosopher I respect. He wrote some time ago about the purpose of putting ideas out there for people. On the one hand, you can write and offer people explanations of whatever you happen to be writing about. That is translative communication. A more powerful form of communication, writing in my case, is offering people pathways to change. Offering this in a way that cncourages people to be better than they were yesterday. He calls that transformative communication.
What I set out to do is the latter.
In that vein, I think Dan and Chris quit too soon in the questions that need to be answered. And…I think this is where I have fallen off my game of late (if I was ever on in the first place).
Profoundly, Chris says one of the first questions you have to answer is the ‘who?’ question. Who are you writing for?
Then the questions that come up for me are these.
What?
This is the translative question. If you can somehow explain the meaning of something, whether it’s a study, a new breakthrough, or whatever. This is, of course, still a service to your audience, but I think it is incomplete.
So what?
This question is really more than one question, isn’t it? Take a look at Chris’ statements above regarding ‘so what?’. It’s also a bit more, I think, at least for me. It’s – What the hell are you writing about this anyway? What are you saying that anybody gives a shit about? What makes it important?
Now what?
This is the kicker, the transformational, that which helps my readers towards more productive, more satisfying, and richer lives. This may come in the form of questions or ideas that I may throw out there; it’s also my bugaboo lately. It’s the part of my blog that I think has been flat, and the part of many blogs that I see as lacking.
In coaching, I always know that a client has a next step. I also know they have it in them. So that’s what I am looking for is my next step, meaning taking this blog and the others I write to a next level. I hope I’m not biting off more than I can chew.
Your turn
How do you know when it is time to take the next step?
What helps you notice that you aren’t doing it?
What is your next step?
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