To Care, or Not to Care (About Metrics), That is the Question. 

In my last post, I described the roller coaster of emotions I experienced as a Writer who’s new to blogging on Medium (or anywhere else, for that matter), and I explained the THINK-DO-BE process I used to overcome the Limiting Belief that I “have to blog the right way.”

It all started when I made the decision to start down the rabbit hole of reading many of the thousands of Medium posts espousing the Top 10 tips & tricks you should do as a Writer to appease the Almighty Algorithm. If you, too, are a Writer, and you just paused to say a silent prayer, I don’t blame you.

Well, this morning, it’s as if Medium’s god-like algorithm knew I was going through the push and pull of caring-but-not-wanting-to, because today the platform suggested multiple posts for me to read, all centered around the question:

Should metrics matter?

Point A: Of course they do, dummy!

At the start, there was the fellow blogger who took the position that Readers should support Writers by giving them the full 50 Claps per post to show their support, and Readers shouldn’t even bother to Clap if they weren’t staying on the Post to read it for at least 30 seconds, to ensure the Writer earned something for their publishing efforts. Clearly, my fellow blogger cared a LOT about metrics.

As someone new to Medium, I was honestly surprised to read what he’d written about Claps. I had no idea you could even Clap more than once! Haha… My frame of reference was just Facebook, and it’s not like you can Like a post on Facebook multiple times (at least, not without looking like a crazed stalker).

But, I digress…getting back to my fellow blogger’s post:

Just reading his words, his entreaty for Readers to show their sincere support for Writers, to give them many Claps, a Follow, and a genuine Read with (one can hope) a thoughtful Comment?

I can completely understand where he was coming from. As someone who’s just starting to write here, I’ve quickly learned the importance of these metrics. From what I’ve read practically everywhere, such numbers can make or break a Writer’s ability to have their posts be shown to Readers, much less monetized.

Point B: The Nirvana of Not-Caring

On the other end, Medium reached into its November 2023 archive and directed me to a post that’s the polar opposite: Ryan Holiday’s post, entitled “The Longer I Do This, The Less I Care About Results.” 

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve been a fan of Ryan Holiday’s work for years and I own his books on Stoicism. So, of course, I read his post immediately. 

In it, he describes how he no longer focuses on the outcomes, the metrics, that he achieves from his blogging or book writing, and he makes a beautiful metaphor about his favorite moment in baseball, the quintessential moment we’re all familiar with from many famous photographs, when the baseball player’s swung the bat and his bat makes contact with the ball. This is the image Ryan pictures in his mind as he’s working.

What’s fascinating is how his interpretation of the image has changed as he’s changed. You see, in that snapshot of time, we don’t know where the ball’s going. We don’t know if it’s a home run or not. We don’t know the results. Ryan used to care. But now he doesn’t. It’s just that one moment — the present — that’s become the most important point in time.

Ryan’s matured from Point A to Point B.

How? Well, first, he acknowledges there are certainly moments when metrics do matter, like Quarterly Earnings for a business. But, as a Writer, he’s come a long way from caring about making the Best Sellers Lists. Now, he focuses on the creative work itself, and not the outcome, because he can’t control how his writing is received. Only the work is in his exclusive control. The positive outcome, if any, is just a bonus.

Ah, what a beautiful concept!

As Writers, one can only hope that we all make it to Point B one day, when we can write and publish and have it be read and validated by others, without needing the validation. It would be a dream come true to be in that position as a Writer, because then all that brain power and energy is freed up, to care only about the craft of writing, when you can appreciate the validation, but you don’t feel like you need it.

Right?

At first glance, it seemed so dreamy to me, and it got me thinking, If that’s what Enlightenment means in the publishing world…

Is there a Shortcut? 

What if there were a way to reach the Nirvana of Not-Caring right now, rather than waiting the YEARS and multiple BOOKS it took for such an esteemed Writer to make it to that point, both mentally and (perhaps even more profound for the Writer) emotionally?

Setting aside the fact that such thoughts aren’t very Zen of me (haha), a part of me finds it hard to even consider the possibility of Not-Caring about metrics. Because Metrics = Results!

And I’ve been conditioned to care as an attorney. Attorneys are trained to get results. Some aren’t even paid if they don’t achieve a positive outcome. And, attorneys are used to seeing results relatively fast. Attorneys know if they’ve won or lost a case when it concludes. They know if they’ve won a motion or not. And they can see the immediate expressions of support or (hopefully not) disdain on a juror’s or judge’s face.

But, like I said in my last post, in the realm of Writing, on my publishing journey, I’m deliberately choosing to NOT take a Got-to-Win, A+ Perfectionistic approach.

Instead, I’m purposely adopting a more balanced, exploratory mindset. Like an Experimenter who’s allowed to make mistakes. I’m striving to be a Lifelong Learner, to perfect my skills and develop the craft of writing, as a practice, as a calling.

And, yet…

A part of me has to care about metrics! As an author who’s new to writing on a blog, trying to gain Views, Reads, and Follows, to build an audience that enjoys my work, such feedback is critical. I need metrics to point my writing in the right direction, to give value to the audience I want to serve.

I can make peace with that when I think of all the lessons I can learn.

The journey from Point A to Point B is worth it for the Wisdom gained along the way.

The trip from Point A to Point B is not a straight line. It’s probably a path you have to walk many times, circling back occasionally, caring about metrics for days or weeks, then not caring for months afterwards. Back and forth, again and again, changing you the more steps you take, the more lessons you learn along the way.

At least, that’s what I’m guessing. As you know, I’ve just barely started walking the blogging path. What I do know for sure is I’m willing to let the journey change me. I’m ready to learn and grow.

And Ryan’s post has opened my mind. There’s something magical in Ryan’s thinking, the way he envisions the baseball bat making contact with the ball. There’s the CRACK! and he remembers,

“…the truth of one of the basic principles of Stoicism–the part about how some things are in your control and some things aren’t. Doing the work. That’s up to me.” — Ryan Holiday

The VICTUS Method: Transformation through Experimentation

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You have to try things with an open mind, to see what resonates with you. 

— The VICTUS Method

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So I’m jumping in. I’m closing my eyes, to give Ryan’s imagery a go, to see where it might lead me.

What comes to mind? I find myself drawn to a different sports analogy: gymnastics.

Not because I’m a gymnast (I’m not and have never tried the sport). It’s because I grew up watching the Women’s Gymnastic Teams competing at the Olympics. I loved watching their amazing display of athleticism, strength, and graceful beauty. And, of course, seeing them stick the landing. That was always satisfying to see.

But, the part that really touched me was when the camera cut to all of the teammates, cheering and clapping and rooting for their friends, as they gave it their all, out on the floor.

It’s the camaraderie that I found so incredibly inspiring.

So what does that tell me?

Between Point A and Point B, where am I on the path?

I can see I’ve got a long way to go. A long journey ahead of me.

I’m far away from the Nirvana of Not-Caring, but you know what’s amazing?

It’s the MEANING Behind the Metrics that Matters

I don’t have to wait until I’ve achieved massive blogging success to experience a touch of peace in the present moment.

I’m feeling good, already. Even though I’m closer to Point A than Point B.

Why? Because of the community.

In the past 19 days, I’ve made just 3 posts.

Do you see it?