Sometime around spring this year I started to hate blogging. At first I thought I could get through it, that it was just the usual dry patch of a lack of inspiration, but as the year went on and on it didn't get any better. I think somewhere between the free samples, constant comparison and stress I lost sight of what this site is meant to be to me, a fun, relaxed creative outlet. With the upcoming rebrand I'm hoping a whole new wave of inspiration will come, and though my content will still be mainly beauty based, I'm excited to bring in some of my other interests too and make this blog a bit more varied. I want to excite you with my content too, and the only way to do that is to love it myself. Here are 5 ways in which I'm learning to love blogging again:
1. Get rid of the insecurity - A self-confessed perfectionist, my work is never good enough. My writing is sometimes clunky, my photography too dark, my life not pinterest-y enough - I could go on and on forever. But that's not what blogging is about. Whilst trying to get back into blogging I'm really working on not beating myself up about not being 'perfect', but rather, trying to improve little by little each post that I put out.
2. Find motivation - I think part of what led me to fall out of the blogging was/is constantly putting out content that I don't feel totally engaged with. While blogging was initially a hobby, as soon as money gets involved it changes. Whilst I've never been dishonest with you all, there have definitely been times where I've only posted about things because I've felt I needed to after being sent them. Going forward, I want to be more picky with what I post about, I think this new stance will be a lot more motivating to me.
For you it may be different? Your blog design, name, whatever it is - find what's not working for you and change it.
3. Come up with new ideas - I'm conscious some of this post may sound sort of like it's just bashing other bloggers and please be assured that is 110% not my intention at all but all of the beauty posts can get a bit same-y. By branching out with new series' and content I'm hoping that I'll mark my blog out as a little different and show you some of the other sides to me at the same time. Uganda also left me with a changed view on the world, whilst beauty is something that I'll always hold dear, I want to blog about more substantial things now and again in addition.
4. Relax - Going back to point number one, a lot of the time I don't feel happy with the way I run my blog. Doing it as a hobby is amazing, but also means there's no need to take it too seriously. Try not to focus on the numbers too much because they really don't matter, and I'm also going to take a while off my blogging schedule and only put posts out as and when I feel like it.
5. Browse - Finally, get scrolling. If you've left the bloggy world for a while then you may feel slightly out of the loop. Getting reading, get inspired, talk to others, and remind yourself why you loved the blogging community so much in the first place.
It's crazy to think that I've been blogging for two/ two and a half years now. Blogging has taught me so much and I never want to leave it behind. I love and appreciate the community, the confidence it has given me, the endless hours of procrastination ... and sometimes it just takes a few little steps to remember all that again.
