porch talk
6
last week a roundtable discussion on the land of blogworld had lots of folks shedding light on feelings of jealousy and comparison. while neither of these are issues for me, i understand where they come from and how natural it is to let these gremlins run amock. i think it is one of the best discussions circulating on blogs right now, creating a crack for more authenticity to shine through.
i did share sometime feelings of…yoohooo, anybody out there? and if you are could you leave a note in the mailbox here and there that i’ve felt from time to time (also very natural blogger feelings). however, i think it’s important to know that 95% of the time, i don’t think about this at all. i don’t follow stats, i have looked at them, when i started blogging someone helped me get going on twitter, fb, hootsuite and introduced me to the world of stats. but only when a friend who has been around from day one mentions “have your readers increased?” do i think of even going back to see. yes i would like people to read, yes i love hearing from readers, but not to the point where i want to be like another blog, to compare myself to another or be jealous because whatever blog has 20 bazillion readers.
i am not competitive by nature, i think this helps me greatly with the jealousy gremlins. i don’t look at a pretty shiny blog and think why does their house/hair/blog have this or that and i don’t. but i do think it’s a great opportunity to take whoever or whichever (in this case) makes those feelings stir, and turn the jealousy/comparison into inspiration. think of design*sponge for example, she probably has, well i don’t even know how many readers, but how unfair to compare yourself (or myself) to that blog, she’s been blogging for eight!!! years, i know i haven’t blogged a quarter of that yet, you? why compare a newborn to a grade schooler.
and as for the green eyed monster. i love other blogs for the opportunity to learn something, find something new, to be creatively inspired, and this is where my frustration in lack of original content came forth. the internet is this amazing media that i want to take full advantage of and what more fun way than blogs, but not if they’re all doing the same thing. if you feel jealous over another, look a little deeper to see what exactly you’re jealous of. i truly don’t believe we have the capacity to recognize something in someone else that we ourselves cannot achieve in our own way. i think if it were impossible for us, we wouldn’t recognize it to begin with. so if you feel jealous over your perception of someone let it instead fuel your fire to do more, to make changes. what is it that you really, really covet that they have or are doing and what can you do in your own life to incorporate or build towards that? as many have shared during this discussion what they portray and what lies behind the curtain are two different things anyway.
i’m not jealous and don’t compare myself to others because i have no desire to be like another blog out there. yes, it would be nice to have the success that some have reached, but i want it on my own terms. i don’t know what twists they are having to make to have that success, it may not be worth it to me if i knew what they had to do to get it. i have always valued time over money. would i like a big pile of cash? uh. yeah. do i want to work 100 hours a week for it. no. if that were the trade-off, i’d happily choose less moolah, more whatever-i-want-to-do time. a lot of people in this country that have a lot of money, work an enormous amount of time for it, and thereby sacrifice in many other areas of their lives. i don’t think it has to be that way necessarily but make sure you know what it is your coveting, it might not look so pretty if you could see the whole enchilada.
my goals for blogging have been very personal from day one. and one of my main objectives was always to be completely my own blog. i want to be original, authentic, share our story, our walk down the yellow brick lane. i can’t compare that to someone else because it’s mine, it’s ours. i want to share my unique take on things, our travels, our diy, our lives, it’s personal with the hope that some of what i/we share just might be beneficial in some way to someone else. i love having this little corner of the world and to be a part of the big, big world of bloggers. i work very hard on this blog, but it is driven by my desire to be happy with what i put out there. i’m more of a runner competing with myself and reaching personal goals than i am a team player trying to be as good or the same as the rest of the team. i’m working constantly to be the best i can be, to put forth good stuff that compliments other good stuff in cyberspace. i’m reaching for my personal best and love blogs that are doing the same. the good, successful blogs are just that for a reason. i dare say they have been reaching for new personal heights year after year to get where they are, and you too can reach your own best if you dig deep, and along the way, remember.. enjoy!
→ → → to see the original post that inspired this one, go here.
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Filed Under: porchtalk
Tagged: creature comforts blog, jealousy, porchtalk, things i'm scared to tell you
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Yes! Terrific post and awesome attitude to take when blogging.
(; thanks molly! i appreciate such positive feedback!! xo, t.
When I started blogging I checked stats all the time and I did compare myself to other blogs. Then I realized that’s not why I blog. I blog so I can share my photos and my thoughts. And I don’t really care how many people read my blog. It’s more about just putting my thoughts down. It’s crazy how many people can get sucked into the crazy world of blogging with the wrong intentions.
i hear you, when i was introduced to stats i thought, cool, but quickly realized it was a slippery road and abandoned it. i love, love having readers and love when the blog reaches more people, it just has to be a happy side benefit though.. sounds like you and i are on the same page!
Agree with you 100%. Great post.
thank you SO much.. i really appreciate the feedback!! (;