Compare yourself to others?

Each of us are so unique and beautifully different. You are special and you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.  But maybe you don’t always feel that way. Have you ever found yourself just standing in a crowd of people, at the mall or at the grocery store, and just thought “no one even knows I exist”. And in that moment, you probably think there is nothing special about you. You are just another face in the crowd. Your not the first person to feel that way, but you are dead wrong.

You are special, there is no one else like you in the entire world. I’m not just saying this to build you up – it is very true and I hope you know and believe that with your whole heart. In the same breath, we also judge ourselves based upon others. We see someone who is successful, popular, pretty, intelligent or unbelievably kind and we can’t help but compare ourselves to them. And this can leave us feeling empty, dull and like we don’t measure up. Like we are never good enough.

This is true in the blogging world as well as the “real” world. It is so easy to see “bigger” bloggers and how successful they are and get discouraged about our own blog. We wonder if people even read what we are writing, if they even care. But, I will preface – “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle”.

This is something I have seen A LOT in the past month. I have received email from bloggers who are discouraged because they only have a certain number of followers and they think they will never be successful or that their lives are “too boring” or that “they are creative enough”. They look at other blogs and think “why can’t my pictures look as good as theirs”, “my blog design is terrible compared to theirs”, “their followers actually comment on their posts”, “why can’t my DIY projects work”, or “their life seems perfect”.

But, what you are missing is that YOU ARE PERFECTLY YOU! You are special and so is your BLOG. Everyone has different strengths and different weaknesses. Find your voice and your story for your blog. Having a direction and purpose for your blog is so important and will help you, be you. It is too easy to look at others and compare ourselves. To look at our blog compared to others.

So I will say it again “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle”. A blog you admire could have gone through the same things as you are going through. Don’t compare yourself to a blogger that has been at it for 2 years, if you have only had a blog for a month. In the same breath, I will say it IS OKAY to learn from them. Just don’t get discouraged. They might be an amazing cook and your idea of cooking might be throwin’ some ramen on the stove. Everyone is different, but this mades us unique and special.

Stay focused and most of all, if you are feeling down or discouraged, reach out to bloggers around you for encouragement, support and advice. I think if we aren’t here to help each other then there is really no point. I hope this leaves you feeling encouraged and focused on being you.