Some things in life are easy.  Others can require more thought, more energy, more effort.  And some things are just flat humbling.  As an energetic 25 year old, I’ll admit that few things typically humble me.  I have an assumption that I am good at most things and if I’m not, with minimal effort, I can usually figure it out rather quickly.

In the past few months, I have experienced not one or two, but three extremely humbling experiences.  Experiences that have smacked me in the face with the realization that sometimes I truly have no idea what I’m doing.

Creating A Blog And Trying To Make Money Off Of It

It has been quite the experience starting this blog.  Getting a website up and running is easy.  Continuously putting strong content on the blog each day is quite another story.  It’s humbling to put your skills and abilities in public view, up for scrutiny.  You realize that you are not the smartest person out there.  You learn that you are not the best writer nor the best investor.

Earning traffic and a solid readership is even more challenging.  I have learned that it takes perseverance and dedication to keep pushing forward with a blog, just like it would with any new business.  Writing a single fantastic article does not automatically turn into thousands of readers for my blog, and it does not equate to earning thousands of dollars a month like the world’s top bloggers.

It is a slow process.  It is a process that requires more work than originally thought.  I will keep writing and working on the site and hopefully, readers and traffic will continue to grow.  Also, in time, hopefully, I will be able to realize a monetary return from this website.

Training For A Marathon

I am scheduled to run the New York City marathon in November of this year.  I have never run a marathon before.  The longest distance I have run is a half marathon (13.1 miles).  Training for a full marathon has been absolutely nuts.  Just when you feel good about the progress you’re making after running a strong 8 miles, you go out and can barely finish 4 miles.  If you were to chart my training progress, it would look like a volatile stock that goes up and down, not a smooth and steady upward trending line.

It is definitely humbling to realize that you are not as athletic as you think.  More humbling is the realization that I’m not as mentality tough as I would think.  Pushing through miles 9 and 10 takes mental toughness.  Many times, I don’t have it.  Basically, you have to tell yourself, “Yes, this sucks, but get over it and keep running.”

Training for this marathon has been quite a growing experience that has stretched me both physically and mentally.  It will be interesting to see where I am in the process a few months from now.

Finding Out I’m Going To Be A Father

This one takes the cake.  A little over a month ago, I learned my wife was pregnant.  Never before did I  realize so much that I truly have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to something.   What a humbling experience it is to have this idea of where my life is going and comfortable in the idea that I am capable of handling anything that comes my way to get smacked with the realization of having no experience with what is coming next.

The process of having our first child is incredible, both exciting and beautiful.  It has been a great and growing experience for me to start the pregnancy process with my wife and prepare for the addition to our family.  It is truly the greatest thing I have ever been a part of.