Blogging is an activity that anyone can engage in – it’s easy, cheap and available to everyone. And while the ultimate reason may be different for each individual, the personal and professional growth potential is why I recommend you start a blog.

In fact, there are practically no good reasons holding you back because there are plenty of free options available if you don’t plan to make money.

Here are some of the top benefits of blogging and how it can change your life.

1. You Will Hone Your Writing Skills

Writing is a very valuable skill. Although there are some who think writers are born with such talents, most bloggers will confirm that the art of communication is learned through consistent practice. And contrary to popular belief, some of the most high-traffic blogs are written in a conversational tone.

As you consistently blog, you will begin to pay more attention to word-choice, sentence structure, tone, and writing copy. Learning how to write good blog posts will certainly refine your writing skills in the process.

2. You Will Become a More Organized Thinker

Writing gives you time to organize your thoughts as well as re-think, re-phrase, delete, edit, and change your beliefs. That’s the beautiful thing about writing – it allows you time to analyze the coherence and logic behind your thinking.

This exercise can eventually become a part of your mental thought process in everyday life, leading you to become a better thinker.

3. You Will Have a Healthy Emotional Outlet

This is especially true if you are looking to blog for personal purposes. While your blog may not be meant as a “secret diary”, it can still serve as an emotional outlet.

Studies have shown that writing helps people heal emotionally after a traumatic experience. Even if your experiences may not be considered especially traumatic, writing can serve as a way to overcome mental and physical hardships in life.

4. You Will Develop Healthier Habits

Blogging is an activity that requires a certain level of discipline, commitment and time. Sure, you can ignore your blog when you feel like it but, if you do have goals and want people to actually visit your blog, you will need some degree of organization and time management.

The best part is the positive reinforcement. As more people begin to read, comment and share your blog, the more motivated you’ll become. That’s how most amateur bloggers transition into full-time, professional bloggers.

5. You Will Be Exposed to Other Perspectives

In the process of researching new blog post ideas, bloggers are exposed to different perspectives. Similar to interacting with new people who have different ideas and opinions, blogging opens you up to learning and expanding your horizons.

With your audience potentially being the entire internet, you have the added bonus of discovering different cultures, ways of life, thought processes, and life issues. The result is that you will become a more open-minded, well-rounded individual.

6. You Can Make a Difference in Other People’s Lives

Yes, you starting a blog can certainly make a difference in other people’s lives. No matter what you discuss or how unique your situation, there is always the chance that someone else is experiencing a similar challenge, dilemma, or situation. Your blog posts may connect with readers on an intellectual or emotional level, help them cope with a traumatic event, inspire them to try something new, and/or make a decision to improve their life.

For example, one of the blogs I built is geared towards helping people make better financial decisions. I started it to provide money, career and education advice, and it always makes me smile when I get emails from readers who have used my blog to improve their lives.

Although you might think that your blog’s potential won’t live up to “changing the world”, to that one person you may have been the catalyst for a life-changing event, making all the difference in his or her world!

7. You’ll Have More Confidence

Need to build self-confidence? Start blogging, and you just might get what you want/need. When you blog about topics that strike a chord with your readers and they respond to you via comments, email or social networks, you will certainly get a rush of positive emotions. You will quickly realize that you do have something important to say and share with the world, and that will encourage you to speak your mind more often.

8. Blogging can Offer New Opportunities

Blogging opens up new opportunities mainly because a blog can be read by anyone in the world. Who knows who discovers your blog? If you have concrete goals from the beginning (e.g. to use your blog as a resume or establish yourself as a credible expert in an industry), then you will naturally take steps to reach those goals.

In some cases, you may be invited to speak at conferences, write a column for a large publication such as Forbes or US News, or establish yourself as a community leader. You may even find a career that you are passionate about and is better suited to your skills and talents.

Lastly, a new job may not be directly correlated to your blog but, as we’ve discussed above, blogging can help you develop a number of transferable skills needed to succeed in a professional setting. For instance, almost all employers look for writing, communication, presentation, critical thinking and leadership skills – all side effects of writing a blog.

9. You Have the Potential to Make Money

Blogging for money is one of the hottest topics these days, and it is actually a niche that is rife with opportunity. You can start blogging with the goal of making money, but you can also start a blog without the dollar sign twinkling in your eyes.

Whatever your starting point, however, there is the potential to make money. Whether you sell ad space, recommend products or services, or become a freelancer, blogging can be a side income or full-time business.

---

---

Final Word

Like anything else in life, blogging is a process and requires patience.

While you may have concrete goals and deadlines, don’t give up if your blog isn’t an overnight sensation. Most blogs take a minimum of 6 months to start attracting decent traffic.

Take blogging as a challenge to see what you can achieve in a new field, and keep in mind one of my favorite quotes from Bruce Lee:

“Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

---