If You Are a Creator, You Need to Read This
I wanted to post something that I hope might help some of you as it did me - I posted it yesterday in a blogger Facebook group I'm a part of, and so many others resonated with it that I thought I'd post it here. I'm a little over 2 years into my blogging adventure, but man, sometimes the idea of quitting sounds so delightful. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would actually miss my blog if it stopped. Blogging is a hard industry. Being a creator is a hard industry. The idea of not being in it and having all that free time (and less stress!)... Some days it's hard not to quit. So for all you creators/bloggers/writers/entrepreneurs/YouTubers/freelancers/artists/and more out there, this is for you.
I was venting to my husband about how hard it is to want to keep blogging sometimes. I'm sure you all have felt that way before: Instagram engagement sucks, it feels like I'm losing followers more than gaining, my blog hasn't really grown at all in like 2 years, I'm tired of trying to keep up with all my social accounts and promote my blog and write and take photos and be current. I have this great vision in my head of what I want my posts and feeds to look be, but I'm never there and I never know why. Sometimes it's just hard to remember why I starting blogging this in the first place.
My husband listened and just pulled this quote up by Ira Glass for me and it was kind of eye-opening. If any of you are feeling the same way I am, I hope you read this quote to remind yourself that you are talented and you have a great vision and you know where you want to be, but yes, it takes time. For everyone. Go back to the first posts of any big blogger's posts, and they were all where we were/are once. Practice makes perfect, and so that's what you need to do. Don't get discouraged!! You've got this. :)
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” -Ira Glass
