Mar 4, 2014

I've unfollowed all the gurus

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I've unfollowed all the 'live your best life' and family / planning blogs I used to read.

I still like some of them. But I don't want their stuff on my Facebook / Twitter / blog feed anymore, and here's why:

They mostly don't resemble me.  While I admire anyone who is managing their life well, has changed their life or is energetic, achieving things, healthy, happy or what have you, I think of the people that run some of these blogs the same way I think of those motivational salesman of the eighties and nineties: admirable but basically of a certain personality type, once called "Type A", who is kind of wired that way.

Their lives are not mine. I'm not saying my life is more difficult or complex (it's not), but my life is my life, and the way I live it is basically working for me as is.

I've already found my methods. It's been trial and error, like everyone's life, and I'd never claim it's perfect, but through years of living it, I've found what works for me and my family, and the limitations of every method.

Their stuff doesn't work if you work full time in an office with a commute. All those slow-cooker recipes, housework schedules and the like, don't work if you work full time and don't work at home. I know these blog writers work hard, and they juggle as all of us do, but managing what you do before you "sit down to work" [in your house] is honestly very different from having to commute to work somewhere else, and do that every day.

I don't need relentless motivation and positivism. I'm not depressed (been there), and I'm motivated to get up and go every day by the need to keep my career going and keep a roof over my kids' heads. I get pleasure from the things I like and I keep active and interested in the world. That's all I need to keep going and achieve what I have to achieve.

Their stuff is repetitive. If you read any of these blogs for any length of time you'll tend to read the same intros, tips and pep talks over and over again. These blogs are designed so that anyone can pick them up at any time; the downside of that is they can irk you if you read them regularly.

We have a basic difference in life philosophy. I believe you can get nuggets of helpful information from just about anything you read. So these blogs can provide some good tips. But I also think life is messy and sometimes hard and you can't create a system that will keep you on top of it all the time.

I kind of resent what they do.  I'll admit it. There's something about running a blog about how to blog, or how to work or how to live, or how to manage family/home life, that seems like a bit of an easy out to me. I know that's irrational and unfair. Some of these people have really good blogs. But there are some I read which make me totally understand the existence of GOMI.

There's so much more interesting stuff out there to read. I read news, online magazines, blogs, tweets, fiction, you name it. I download podcasts and listen to them while I walk or while I lie in bed (but then I tend to fall asleep halfway through). There's so much to read, and so much to make you think and keep you busy, engaged and entertained. THAT'S where I prefer to direct my internet energy.

I prefer reading small blogs. Tiny ones in fact. I love reading the regular blogs I follow to read how people like me manage life, work, family and existential despair. Yes, that means you!



Do you read any of the 'big' blogs?
Do you follow any gurus?


12 comments:

  1. Gurus tend to make me feel inadequate - or disbelieving. Neither of those feelings are ones I want to promote. I muddle along as best I can. And relate so much better to people who can admit to the occasional epic fail.

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  2. I used to follow Mrs Woog, until she kind of became commercial at The Hoopla. But she would be the one most inclined to be a 'big' blogger. I read a couple of serious blogs, but the rest I read are people like me, just living their lives and doing nothing too remarkable, yet I find the unremarkable so fascinating. I enjoy hearing about the lives of my family, friends and people whose blogs I read.

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    Replies
    1. I like Kerry Sackville's blog and Reservoir Dad, but those are pretty much the only biggies I read. Neither is full of advice!

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  3. I'm kind of set in my bloggie ways and stick with the kind folk who've allowed me to quietly sit at their blog tables. I don't like being told what to do and how to do it so I steer clear of those.

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    Replies
    1. Took me awhile to get here, but I'm with you!

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  4. Your problem is you are reading these blogs all wrong. There is a correct way to read them and get the most benefit out of their ideas and methods. Here is the correct way to read and follow these blogs...ah...you know, just forget it, I don't think you ever really listen to us experts in how to do stuff.

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    Replies
    1. That's it Joe - you're UNFOLLOWED!! (not really -would miss my daily Cranky read)

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  5. Hi Jackie,

    NOOO! I don;t follow that kind of blog. Just everyday people, funny people, weird people and those that make me smile (and give me ideas for my own blog).

    :-)

    Cheers

    PM

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    Replies
    1. Yes, other people's blogs are good for ideas - and memes ;)

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  6. The Gurus? No. I did follow a couple of "big" blogs for a while, but they're the sort that get a gazillion comments all praising or agreeing with the blogger, "you go girl, you're fantastic" that sort of thing, (bunch of yes men). They got boring for me pretty quickly, simply because I couldn't feel any real connection and why bother to leave a comment when there are already over 100? I prefer smaller blogs where I'm able to leave a "real" comment that won't get lost in the hundreds of followers.

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