My goals and intentions while I'm a Minnow (& a couple of questions for you if you've been on Hive longer than me!)

229 days ago I joined Hive. With the skills I already had I seem to have fumbled my way forward quite nicely. But now that I've survived my first HiveBloPoMo and my first HPUM I thought it was a good time to pause, reflect and consider where to put my focus for the rest of my first year on Hive.

That looks like a lovely place to sit and ponder next steps.

Never in my life have I been so open to learning and intentional about a social media platform. I'm not sure why Hive is so different. Maybe it's because it is so different to all the Web 2.0 stuff I've been playing on for the last decade or more that I really had no option but to stay open if I wanted to succeed. Or maybe it's (also?) that I'm different; every year month week day I grow into a slightly more mature version of me who is willing to navigate this world differently.

[So this doesn't turn into a super long, wordy monologue, let's use some useful formatting tools I learned about 100 days ago to split this blog up a bit, hey?]

In this post, I'll use the awesome "Stop, Start, Continue" model to consider how I want to move forward on Hive. (While this model is cited all over the net, I can't find an original source. If you know who originally created this model, please tell me in the comments; I'd love to credit them). While this model is usually used in small, medium or large businesses as a feedback tool, it can also be used as a self-reflection tool. That's how I'll use it here.

Consider this post my online journal to replace my paper scribbling.

The number one thing I want to stop doing on Hive:

1️⃣ Forcing

This means I'll write a post when I want to write one, not because I think I should. It also means I write the kind of post I want to write, not the kind I think I should. i.e. If I want to write about my day, I'll do that. If I want to teach a lesson about the things I know, I'll do that. If I want to write in fanciful, poetic prose, I'll do that. But it's time to stop the forcing.

Just because my partner can write 2 posts a day (every single day!!) doesn't mean I should try and keep up with him. And just because I wrote a 1,500-word teaching post last week doesn't mean I need to write one this week. So enough with the forcing; it's time for me to stop this behaviour because following my own flow is far more sustainable than pushing and forcing. And I want to still be writing on Hive in 10 years from now, not burn to a crisp before I reach the end of the first one.

It's time to stop doing this to myself.

The two things I want to start doing on Hive:

1️⃣ Actively learn more about how to operate well even better on Hive.

I want to learn more about Communities and formatting and front-ends. I want to better understand Tags and Tokens and finance in the context of Hive and crypto. So it's time to start actively spending some time, most days, learning something about one or more of these. And so I have a question for you:

Do you have any recommendations for where I can learn more about any of these topics? I'd LOVE to be pointed towards posts that are written simply enough for a relative newbie to understand.

2️⃣ Follow some more people who write really well (in English) and who share about topics that genuinely interest me. So this is the other one I'd like your help with. I want to start following some more awesome people without having to spend so much time reading very poor quality posts in my attempt to find people who really care about creating great content. Here's what I'm looking for:

I'm interested in travel, outdoor adventures, mindful movement, psychology, neuroplasticity, mind-body awareness, whole food plant-based eating, writing and publishing. Who do you know who writes really well and shares regularly on one or more of these topics?

I imagine that a person who writes great content really loves what they are sharing.

The three things I plan to continue doing on Hive:

1️⃣ Using Hive to love on people:

I love loving people. I love being a cheerleader and encouraging people when they do well. I love being a support and sharing resources when I think someone is open to hearing them. And I've come to love throwing tokens around like they're candy 😅 So imma goin' keep doin' that 😉

2️⃣ Practising expressing myself:

In my time on Hive it's become more obvious than ever before that I have no one way of communicating. My communication styles are very fluid and I like that. So rather than boxing myself into trying to only write one kind of post - like so many other people do - and be known for that style of writing, I'm just going to continue giving myself permission to keep trying new things in the way I express myself through my writing. (And, who knows, maybe it will even extend into other forms of communication on here, like videos, since I do them elsewhere in my business life...)

3️⃣ Stay open to questioning my assumption and beliefs:

One of the things I did not expect when I joined Hive (and that has been such an unexpected blessing) has been just how much exposure I have to people of wildly different backgrounds than myself. I like to think I'm open-minded. I have had the wonderful privilege of travelling to several other countries, I've lived amongst people of different religious backgrounds and cultures, and I actively ask myself to stay open to what I can learn from people who I perceive as different from me. And yet, Hive has taken this to a whole new level for me.

I am so grateful, and I want to continue to stay as open as possible, as humble as possible and as willing as possible to learn from other people who love, and fear, and try, and fail, and grow, and are on Hive just like me, but who are, so many other ways, so very different than me.

Every way that we could discriminate against another person is another way I want to embrace other people here on Hive (and in real life). Sure, if their interests are totally different to mine then we'll have little to talk about (I'm not going to spend my time talking about Splinterlands no matter how much someone else loves it). But if there's something that can pull me towards another person, something we can have a conversation about that's mutually beneficial to us both, then I want to have these kinds of conversations even if we have very different perspectives on the same topic.

While this shows a gorgeous mix of women, there's no one older than me in this photo, and no one of other genders - by the look of it. Still, you get my point. Diversity is the aim here.

And thus ends my slightly-longer-than-intended post about my goals moving forward. (I can imagine my partner just shaking his head and saying, "You always say you're going to do a short post and it turns into an essay!" 🤣). But there you have it. Take me as I am express myself. If you've read this far I'm guessing you like me well enough.

Thanks for reading and please know, if you think of any fabulous, useful answers to my questions above I'd LOVE to hear from you in the comments! 👇