I have to admit, commitment scares the ever lovin’ hell out of me. No, I’m not talking about relationship-wise. I’m talking about here in blogland.
Recently Ciara and The Book Smugglers announced they were kicking off The Windflower World Tour. I think the idea behind it s fabulous! Not only are they discussing what’s considered a “classic” in the romance genre, but they’re also delving deeper and discussing the differences between romance today and romance of the past, plus they’re asking the question “Does old school romance have a place in contemporary society?”. The entire thing is brilliant and I’m really looking forward to seeing the different perspectives as the book travels (already Ana reviewed the book and so far the discussion is fascinating!).
Also recently announced is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, which is being hosted by My Friend Amy. We registered almost immediately upon hearing about it (Well, Rowena registered us). The project is amazing and I’m very much in awe of Amy for putting it together.
In both cases, I would have loved to participate. As I said above, the discussion about Windflower and old school romances should be fascinating, not to mention I’m curious about the book itself. With BBAW, I’d love to offer to host something here at BB, or help Amy with anything she might need. I can’t imagine the amount of work she’s put into this and I’m sure she could use a hand in one way or another.
So what’s stopped me? Fear of commitment.
You see, I know myself. I know once I take on a project or volunteer myself for something, it becomes a chore. Chores, at least in my world, are not fun. Once the fun is taken out of something, I don’t want to do it. Not doing it means going back on my commitment. Going back on my commitment (or not following through, whatever) gives me a horrible case of anxiety. Anxiety is bad.
In the end, I feel like an ass for having volunteered or agreed to something and then not following through. Plus, I look like an ass for it.
Back when I was young and dumb* I signed myself up for all kinds of stuff. Then killed myself trying to follow through with it all. But now that I’m older and smarter, I’ve learned to only volunteer myself for the things I know I can complete, and to bow out of others.
I’m really lucky to share the blog with two amazing women who help keep me on track. Not only do they support me and help keep me organized, but they reign me in when it looks like I’m going to take on too much. I can’t tell you how many emails a day I send them, saying things like, “We should blog about this.” or “OMG, we should totally sign up for this” or “Don’t you think this would be awesome?!?!” Some of the time they agree, but more often than not they roll their eyes (yes, I know they do this, even if I can’t see them through the computer) and tell me to knock it off. Or they just ignore me. Luckily (or not?) I’m easily distracted and it isn’t long before I move on to something new, which means either way they’re saving me from myself. (Thanks Ladies!)
What about you? Do you share my commitment phobia? Do you take on more projects than you can complete, or are you good at finding the right balance?
*By “back then” and “young and dumb” I mean “yesterday” and “haven’t really learned”. Just FYI.
I am *so* with you on this. I just dropped out of the Windflower World Tour for this very reason.
When I know I have to do something, it becomes homework. I *hate* homework.
Yes, I absolutely do this! I did it when I created my own blog. I was all into reading everyone else’s and thinking of fun things that I could write about and how I was reading all these books and could review them if only I created my own blog. So, I did. I created a blog and then freaked myself out with rules that I was creating for myself. It was insane. So, instead of enjoying the process I stopped writing. I’m trying it again, going for the no rules idea…hopefully this time it’ll work. 🙂
I nodded throughout. See why I don’t have a blog? I mean, poor Karen already puts up with me as it is, no need to torture anyone more than that.
(and the footnote? oh man so me!)
I think that most people probably go through these stages at some point in their lives – unless you are super organised!
I used to do soooo much more than I do now and then at some point – *just about when you are disappearing up your own behind running around trying to get it all done* – you have to say ‘enough’. And then comes the hard bit – you have to follow through with it!
I have major commitment phobia. I didn’t realize I did until I offered to be team mom of my son’s t-ball team a few years ago.
O-M-G. I still have nightmares.
So you’re not alone. LOL
Great post!
I don’t look at doing this as a commitment – or believe me, I wouldn’t be doing it – but as a fun sort of thing so I’m looking forward to reading it.
It’s not a commitment if it’s something you feel passionately about. Does that make sense? I think both examples you mentioned are great ideas, good for Blogland, etc. But I didn’t sign up for either. Why? I’m tired, I’m busy, and neither idea flipped my personal switch. Same reason why my blog has pretty much stayed a lowly little reader blog all these years. I don’t have the energy, desire, wherewithal to do author interviews, features, contests etc.
Which is why I always encourage newbie bloggers to carve out their own niche. Go your own way. Because the minute you try to follow someone else’s recipe it inevitably becomes “homework” and not fun anymore. Find what is fun for you. Trust me, nothing gets old when it’s fun.
I’m the worst with this kind of thing. I want to participate in all kinds of contests and challenges but sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.
I’ve limited my participation in the challenges though, I’ve learned to keep quiet until something comes across my desk that I want to participate in so bad that I know I’m going to participate..and right now, there’s only one commitment that i’ve got going on and that’s the book tour thingy, I’m really looking forward to that.
I have extreme over commitment problems when it comes to blogging, but not so much in real life. Isn’t that ridiculous? Plus, I write for three blogs and my focus on these blogs is constantly shifting…one month it’s all about Inspired to Action and the next month it’s my personal blog.
I’m just ADD. For real.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one. 😛
SLWendy,
I do agree it isn’t really a chore if it’s something you’re passionate about. That’s why it’s fairly easy for me to keep my commitments to the site (Hey, I said “fairly” so stop snorting over there!), because it’s something I really enjoy (i.e. author interviews, guest posts, contests, etc). Even so, I do have a tendency to take on too much.
“It’s not a commitment if it’s something you feel passionately about. “
Yep, that pretty much says it all! Thea and I drive ourselves crazy, we email each other a 1000 times a day with crazy ideas ( Latest idea is “a Zombie festival!” and so on and so forth). I am tired, I am ultra busy, and I love every minute of it because I am having so much fun.
And The Windflower World Tour is such a cool idea! I am loving it and can’t wait to read what other people think.
Nodding. What Holly said.
As a mom of two school aged girls who are Girl Scouts (Guess who is troop leader for both troops?) and on a dance competition team, I’ve learned the hard way what it’s like to over extend myself to the point where it interferes with the quality of life at home. It took me a few years, but I’ve learned how to be careful about what I commit to do…. and I’ve learned a very powerful word: No. And I’m not afraid to use it!