Bloganuary day 11! Today’s prompt is:

What does it mean to live boldly?

I’m not really a die-hard trekky fan, but even I couldn’t miss that one haha. But this is an interesting one, some deep pondering me thinks to consider what it means to “live” boldly.

I think for myself, it means to be true to myself. People aren’t always going to like what I say or do, or agree with me – but that doesn’t mean that I’m not allowed to be “me”. Which great to say and think – theory. But that doesn’t prevent most of us from having self-doubt, from feeling self-conscious about what other people may think. Even for those of us who boldly claim that we don’t care what other people think (spoiler: we kinda do, we just don’t necessarily allow it change who we are).

But how does this relate to writing? Well, let me tell you – it relates in leaps and bounds and especially in today’s marketplace.

So in this sense, to live boldly is going to also translate into writing boldly – and my goodness is that ever a scary thing to do. There is always going to be someone at every turn and in every corner who is going to criticism, attack, and be offended by something you write. There is literally no way to avoid it (besides not writing I suppose).

Then does writing boldly mean that we should simply ignore the state of the marketplace and the high levels of sensitivity that surround us?

Absolutely not.

Rather, we should embrace it. To live boldly and write boldly, in my humble opinion, does not mean to chaff against the grain without a care for the feelings of others and with blinders on about the world surrounding us. But to avoid it would certainly not be embracing the boldness within us either. So where’s the answer? What’s the middle ground?

Balance with research.

As writers, we should be exploring new territories, learning new things, and remain true to what matters to us. So if we want to write about topics that have started to feel like a bit of a minefield for some, writing boldly, to me, means still doing that – but in a mindful way and with intention, good intentions. That means extra learning, doing research, digging deeper – allowing us to better understand, to write from a more informed perspective, while still treading delicate waters.

Living, or writing, boldly for me, is about challenging myself and growing from it – not from being confrontational, disrespectful or insensitive toward others.

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