When you look at a fashion blog post, most of the time you will see pictures that evoke happiness and even carefreeness. Bloggers pose with a smile on their face displaying an outfit that they carefully put together. Before I started blogging, I was clueless to the extent of work put in behind all of the picture perfect photos. Fashion blogging is not all smiles and pretty clothing. Rather, it’s a learning experience. You learn correct photography techniques, the ins and outs of Adobe softwares, and marketing strategies. You learn how to be professional and meet new people miles away from where you live. As you acquire knowledge to grow your blog, you eventually start to grow as a person. My four years of blogging has taught me some valuable lessons that are applicable to life in general. Here are seven life lessons that I have learned through blogging:
1. Always Be yourself
Whether you’re blogging or meeting someone new, be genuine! When I first started blogging, I definitely tried to emulate the styles of certain bloggers because I was young and had not fully developed my own style. However, I’ve learned that if you write genuine content with your true voice and develop your own style, people will frequently come back to your blog. Why? Because you’re the only person on the internet that posts that type of content and outfits! Outside of the blogosphere or internet, it is a bad idea to pretend to be someone your not. Usually, the main reason why one would do this is to please another person’s standards. If a person does not accept you for who you are, they probably are not worth developing a friendship or relationship with. Surround yourselves with those who encourage you to be yourself.
2. IT’s not a competition
3. AVOID COMPARING yourself To OThers
4. SUCCESS Doesn’t happen overnight
Since I was a kid, I have always been naturally competitive. I can’t help striving to do my best and be the best. This can be both a fault and a strength. For those who are similar minded, I want to remind you that sometimes we create our own races where we are the only ones competing. As a blogger, it is easy to look at the numerical figures of more successful bloggers and worry about why your own statistics do not match up. Then, in a fury, you begin to pull up all of the tutorial articles on the internet guaranteeing you more views, likes, and followers. First off, everyone starts at different places. Many famous bloggers have been at it for years. It doesn’t help to be a beginner and compare yourself to those who are experts in their field.“Don’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter 20.” Unless you become an overnight superstar, success takes time, hard work, and lots of learning. I thought I would combine these three lessons since they are intertwined. Most competitive people cannot help but compare themselves to others and will try to find the fastest way to getting to the top.
5. Remember YOUR PURPOSE
I’m definitely guilty of this one. I’ve realized recently that as I was trying to gain followers and create sponsored posts, I’ve lost track of why I started blogging in the first place- I wanted to create rich, Christ honoring content that encouraged girls and women that modest fashion can be stylish. Recently, my posts have not been very faith-based or thought provoking, which I am going to start working on from now on. Whether you’re caught up with the busyness of life, in an entirely new environment, or on the brink of success it is easy to forget your purpose. I think that it is important to stop and reflect on your values from time to time. Keep yourself grounded!
6. REJECTION IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
Just like in life, you can get rejected while blogging. For instance, you can be denied a collaboration brand after brand after brand. Being rejected by a person, brand, or institution can be tough. Rejection can cause you to reevaluate yourself and knit pick on your insecurities. You have to remember that it is not your fault. If something or someone doesn’t accept you for you, it’s their loss! Sometimes things that we desire do not fall into place because God has something far better in store. This is a very broad topic that I want to touch on in the future, but rejection is not the end of the world even though it may feel like it. Rather, it is an opening towards other opportunities.
7. REmember, you’re Too Blessed to be stressed 🙂
Is anyone else an over-thinker? My family will tell you that sometimes, I overthink and overanalyze the unnecessary things. I remember this one time when I was super stressed about something blog related. The fact that I do not remember what I was stressed about attests to the frivolity of it! I know that for some bloggers, their blog is their full source of income so they do have reason to stress about their blog numbers. However, for bloggers like me, it’s more of a hobby. Part of the reason why I continue to blog is because I love being able to express this creative side to me while connecting with readers and bloggers around the world. When the thing that you love to do becomes a source of stress or anxiety, I think that you’re doing something wrong. Try not to sweat the small stuff in life. I heard somewhere that worrying can often be a waste of time since you’re stressing out about an outcome that you ultimately don’t have control over.
These are just a couple of the things that I’ve learned while blogging. I truly hope that this post helps you in some way. Please let me know if there are any lessons you’ve learned while blogging that can be applicable to life. Thank you so much for reading! Scroll down for outfit details :)!
love,
blaze ann
