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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Pay it Forward


                I have been busier than expected this summer and haven’t made much time for my blog or Twitter.  For the most part, this has disappointed me. I have always enjoyed the moments reflecting on my blog, and have loved the resources I’ve gained through Twitter. However, about a month ago I started feeling bitter about Twitter. It began when I sent a string of tweets on consecutive days to which no one responded. I started wondering if my voice was impacting anyone, or at the least, if anyone noticed my thoughts.  I started playing the self-pity game: “on Twitter, some people are only looking for self-promotion”; “my name isn’t popular enough to make my tweets valuable”. I became slightly cynical, which is a personality trait that I despise. But then I thought of one of my favorite quotes, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” by Mahatma Gandhi. The change I want to see on Twitter is for each member to feel they have something worthwhile to contribute.  At this point, I started shifting my thoughts towards my own personal practices. This is when I realized that I wasn't putting forth a conscience effort to interact with other people.  I had become a hypocrite. The person I was truly upset with was myself. Then I started to realize that I haven’t been the best in my own life at taking interest in other people’s words.  I knew I could improve so I made a few propositions for myself.

In my own life:
·         I need to listen more intently to people when they are speaking so they feel their words are worth sharing.
·         I need to ask more questions to show my interest to whomever is speaking.
·         I need to become more open about my own experiences so I don’t appear closed off and disinterested (sometimes I have something to add to a conversation but stay quiet instead).

On Twitter:
·         I need to comment on other people’s posts. I will strive to comment on at least three other posts for every post that I send. This will ensure that I am making an effort to be engaged with the community.
·         I need to retweet posts that I find interesting, educational, or funny to show people their thoughts were enjoyed by me.
·         I need to become more interactive with people to develop better relationships.  


Before I can consider being bitter about other people, I need to look at myself. I know I can change for the better and want to do my part to make anyone I interact with feel important.