Today's post is rather short (but hopefully sweet) and ties in a bit with my previous post on Blogger Organization. It seems that it is so easy to get wrapped up in the blogging world - not necessarily a bad thing, but I've seen it effect myself and other bloggers negatively from time to time. Because of this I have a few little reminders that I try to keep in mind. They've helped me maintain my sanity in the blog eat blog world we operate in...and I hope that maybe they will help you too!
1. Only read (or link to) blogs that make you feel inspired and good about yourself. I would be almost embarrassed to put this out there, except for the fact that every blogger I've personally talked to has shared the same feelings with me, and that is this: not all blogs (even the most popular ones) leave you with a good feeling and are worth spending your time on. Yes, they might be pretty to look, have thousands or millions of followers and probably don't mean any harm, but do you feel better about yourself and your life after a visit to their site? I believe it is an important question to ask yourself. After all, it is you who gets to choose what you will allow to influence your life, so why not be picky and invite only positive things in. Once I personally determined which sites were causing me to doubt myself or feel like my or my life wasn't good enough, I simply stopped visiting them. It was a bit odd at first, but honestly my world feels a whole lot brighter now, and I am so glad I took action for myself.
2. It's okay to say "no." At some point in time you will likely be asked to post something for someone (sales pitches, giveaways, non-profit causes, etc) or to create content for another site or publication (guest posts, magazine features, etc). It's great and exciting when people and businesses are taking an interest in you and your blog, but it can also feel as though saying no is impossible (even when your hands are already full and/or you don't care for their products or site). But the truth is that no matter how tough it is, you can and you should be picky about the content you share. For me, this means that I don't write about anything or provide content for any site/publication that my heart isn't into. I guess I realized pretty early on that if I were to post every single thing that came into my inbox or provided content to everybody who wanted it, I would be sold out and burnt out in no time at all. So even though it is scary, and you might feel like you are throwing away an opportunity (especially when you are first starting out), but I really believe that it is worth it to stick to your guns and trust your instinct.
Tip: If you don't want to give a hard no, you can always let the person/business know that you are not currently interested but you are open to receiving contact from them in the future. This might be a little bit easier to manage and will not likely leave anyone harboring negative feelings towards you and your site.
3. Remember to take time for self-reflection. In the busy, often over-stimulating online world it is very easy to get swept up in the shuffle for more posts, better content, newer ideas, etc. For me remembering to take time to sit with my own ideas and not invite other people's concepts of success or brilliance to overtake me is something that I often struggle with. The two things that help me most of all with this are:
- Limiting the number of blogs I actually do read. This isn't because I don't like other blogs...but because I personally want to know that the content I'm coming up with is my own and wasn't inadvertently influenced by another blogger. Not that finding inspiration in another blogger is bad either, but for my own sanity and peace of mind I like to know that I am being true to myself on a real level and not allowing myself to be fully formed by what is going on around me. I guess you could say I'm choosy.
- And keeping a notebook for jotting down little ideas, inspirations and such that I can revisit whenever I want to. This can be anything as simple as key words and sketches, to full post text and more. It's my little space to be as random and dream as much as I want to, and since it is always there I can rest easy every day knowing that I'm not forgetting something important. If you don't already have a little notebook to jot down your thoughts, I highly recommend picking one up. It doesn't need to be fancy...I actually prefer something that isn't, so I'm not worried about messing it up.
I hope that you will find my little tips helpful as you continue on your blogging journey and navigate the almost always wonderful blog world. Do you have any special tips for keeping your sanity as a blogger? I'd love for you to share any advice and thoughts you might have in the comment section bellow. xo Ez
I love the gorgeous visual storytelling of photographer Petra van Raaij. Her entire portfolio is packed full of soft and airy inspiration. I also really like the images in her collection of personal pieces (which seem to have been taken with a vintage camera). So pretty!
It is all worth a lovely meander through her work, so pop on over for a visit right here. Just a word to the wise, there is a tad of moderate nudity in her body of work. xo Ez
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