So, this is my attempt at a first ‘real’ blog post… What do I mean by ‘real’? I mean content that is uniquely mine. My thoughts. My opinion. Rather than snippets of other people’s content that I collect and share…

I noticed how out of touch I was with my own opinion when I was putting together my application for the Centre for Sustainability Leadership‘s Fellowship Program (which was ultimately unsuccessful, but that’s another story…). As part of the application process I had to write a letter to the editor about a sustainability issue. I think of myself as reasonably well-informed about, and interested in, a range of sustainability topics, but I was really stuck. Stuck because I didn’t know what I thought, I didn’t know what my opinions were, I didn’t know what I was passionate about. As a public servant, I consistently write on behalf of others, communicating their views or intentions or decisions (and I like to think that I do this well). But, I felt quite shocked to realise that in perfecting my fluency in bureaucratese, I had neglected to nourish and develop my capacity to passionately articulate my own opinions. And this is something that I want to address!

I don’t think of myself as a good writer, or as particularly articulate or insightful, nor do I feel like an expert on anything in particular. I read a lot (books, blogs, articles etc) and consistently think that I could never come up with as good ideas, or sound as smart as the authors of the blogs I enjoy. I like the idea of having a blog. But it all seemed a bit too hard, and potentially embarrassing. And what would I write about? Nevertheless, inspired by this tweet, I have realised that if I want to become a good blogger, I may first need to start by being a terrible blogger. I’m certainly not going to get good at it simply by thinking about it!

I’m not doing this because I think that anyone will be particularly interested in what I write. Nor do I think I have any particular wisdom or knowledge that will educate or inspire readers. Rather, at least at this stage, this is purely an attempt at a little self-development exercise. Something that may help me find my voice. I’m looking forward to seeing how it pans out…