Figmentations

As you may have noticed, it’s been a few months since I’ve last updated this blog. 

As you may not know, this wasn’t exactly a planned hiatus.  Probably not unlike other writers out there, somehow I got myself into this rut where I didn’t believe I had anything worthwhile to say that wasn’t already probably being said by someone else.  So, I stopped writing.  Though, that is not to say that I didn’t miss the satisfaction of getting my thoughts down in black and white, which I truly did miss.

Anyway, a number of different inspirations have come together for me lately to inspire me to recommit to some new goals for this blog and I wanted to start by sharing these insights with you here.  I’m hoping these will guide me on a new course, one that we’ll both consider worthy of sticking around for.

My latest realizations are:

(1)    I am truly impressed and inspired by what blogger, Josh Hanagarne of the “World’s Strongest Librarian“, has accomplished with his life and his blog in the past year.  Read about it here: “World’s Strongest Librarian is One Year Old”.

(2)    In reading Chris Brogan’s challenge to blog about the importance of story in your life, I  realized I need more “story” in my life.  Not the kind of made up stuff, but the kind of real “experiencing life” kind of things.  I’ve spent enough time around other people’s “campfires” listening to their stories and I now need to take my turn and find my own stories to tell.

(3)    Like many others, health and fitness has finally become much more of a priority in my life.  I love “The Biggest Loser” and I enjoy following people like Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper online.  And as my fellow bloggers write about the role that fitness is playing in their lives, I’m finding more and more positive influences to follow.  I was particularly motivated by Josh’s post on Adam Glass’s blog and I believe in their message of “Nobody To Impress But Yourself“.

(4)    I was also glad to come across Problogger’s reminder post on “How to Choose a Niche to Blog About“.  I’ve been at this “lost” place before, but now I feel closer to a resolution.  I’m an analyst by trade and know there has got to be some way to create a niche around “thinking” that can be fun and interesting.  I’m on a quest to find (or create) that path, believing it can and will be found, again feeling encouraged by this “Go After Your Goals” post.

(5)    Then there is this steady stream of news reports that I keep reading about studies that contradict conventional wisdom. Studies and statistics always seem factual, yet are still easily misleading and confusing.  Consider the following:

Long-term use of osteoporosis drugs linked to hip breaks
Experts debate merits of breast cancer screening, mammograms
A Wine Diet Study Shows Alcohol Helps Women Lose Weight
Can Your MultiVitamin Give You Cancer?
New Studies Eat Into Diet Math

What do we do with studies such as these?  Don’t they just kill our trust in everything?  (And, that’s not even mentioning what is being reported about politics these days.) Either way, I look forward to exploring philosophies around these kinds of topics with my fellow bloggers and readers.

While by no means am I an arrogant person, I do feel confident to state that I realize I do have things to say, as I believe everyone does.  I’m hoping that what I have to say and how I say it helps others in what they have to say. 

Anyway, who knows what the next 365 days will hold for any one of us.  All I know is that not writing is not going to get me any closer to working through any of my many thoughts and inspirations.  So here begins one analyst’s quest for some worthwhile stories to tell….