This blog post is one of my first ones after a long three months break. I left my so-called ‘baby’ for so long due to many reasons – work, holidays, exhaustion and most of all, lack of self-motivation. And I quickly realized motivating yourself to keep on blogging is not the hardest part. Coming back with “bags of enthusiasm”, new ideas, and most of all – grasping the fact that your own work has been left out there for so long was the most difficult thing. I had this weird feeling of guilt that I failed myself, my ‘own thing’ wasn’t going to be successful and so cool anymore.
And this doesn’t only apply to blogging – it’s also about catching up with news, other blog posts or podcasts, and discussions on forums.
This is when I realized this industry is developing at an overwhelming pace and you need to stay up to date. I wondered how on earth people who have been working in one field for years and suddenly are told to change are coping with it? What about mothers who need to come back to workforce after such a long break? What about people who’ve been told print is dead and suddenly need to create amazing content for Snapchat and Vine? How will they catch up? This blog post is for all of us who struggle with getting yourself motivated and who are a little bit afraid to enter this dynamic online world. I’ll share with you my ways to get yourself thrilled to follow your passion again!
What is FOMO?
Once bloggers and vloggers started to dominate the online world, I was very sceptical of their work. My idea of a typical blogger was that they simply hang out in fancy places and get paid by brands for drinking coffee in bed wearing socks on. I followed some of the ‘influencers’ closely and experienced a bit of this life myself. I quickly realized that blogging is tough – especially when you try to combine it with your full-time job. And there’s more to it – how to keep on creating spot on content and be constantly creative and inspiring?
Do you also experience the same dillemma and look like this man above? Welcome to FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out.
anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.
It’s much bigger than just events or fancy parties – we’re all constantly fearing that we miss out on something. And this is why we check Facebook few times a day. This is why we scroll and scroll on Instagram and keep on refreshing Snapchat stories.
Why is it fear though? It has to do with a simple rule of network economies combined with our human nature of a need to belong somewhere. We don’t want to be excluded from our social circles and be perceived as “less cool”. And social media makes it even worse, especially when you work in this industry. I experience it myself on a daily basis. Going on a holiday for a week of two and not checking your phone is fantastic, and trust me – you can live without social media. But afterwards it’s so hard to come back and the amount of new emails, newsletters, news and discoveries is just overwhelming.
I observed some of the influencers who these days have become the celebrities of today – they’re always in the spotlight creating amazing content. But they need to keep on going. Holidays? That’s a great theme for a new blog post or sponsored post of a hotel on Instagram! They need to be active on every new channel and outpace each other in this rate race. Because leaving it all behind for a while will create light years of behind left out. And no one wants that.
Think of WHY You’re Doing What You’re Doing
Before you jump into something new or before you need to come back after long break (holidays, new job, career change, kids) take a step back and ask yourself – WHY. And don’t come up with a list of bullet points, but think it through and be very critical of yourself. Why do I have to sign up to Snapchat? Why am I asked to draft a social media strategy plan? Why do I need to start my own business? And my own question – why am I blogging in my spare time? Who am I writing all the posts for? Why is it important to me?
I discovered the power of Why thanks to this book “Start with why” by Simon Sinek. His amazing TED talk still inspires a lot of people. Simon simply says:
Remember, people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. If a company does not have a clear sense of WHY the it’s impossible for the outside world to perceive anything more than WHAT the comapny does.
And I use the principle of WHY everyday to inspire and be inspired. I keep my WHY very clear to myself and it helps me stay motivated – I keep on blogging because I enjoying helping people, connecting with them and empowering them to try things on their own. I believe in the power of simple actions that eventually contribute to something great.
How to Come Back With New Ideas?
Asking yourself WHY you need to get back or start something new is the first step. Write your WHY somewhere and make sure it’s clear and true to yourself. Then figure out HOW you will get to your WHY answer and WHAT you need to achieve that.
Here are few other tricks that helped me get back on feet again:
Network with people, talk to new groups and ask questions, seek inspiration
Give yourself time and space. Don’t rush it and make sure you have enough time on your hands to really go for it.
Believe in yourself. It sounds very random, but if you actually believe you can achieve it, you will. And it’s scientifically proven! Have you listened to this inspiring TED talk?
Start reading something completely different. Don’t go back to the same newsletters that you’ve been trying to avoid for weeks. This will not inspire you at all. Sign up for a course or read a new book.
Focus on what went right. Think only about the strengths and surround yourself with positive thoughts and positive people.
Try something completely new or start over! Do you recall that feeling when you buy something new or go on a trip? Share the same feeling to motivate yourself to pursue your passion! Don’t be afraid to change!
For me it was quite easy. One morning I looked at my blog and thought “I need to change it completely, I don’t like it anymore”. And I redesigned the template, got rid of some of the blog posts, I signed up for Instagram and… I redesigned the template yet again! All of that got me very enthusiastic about the start of something new and gave me energy to carry on!
What is Your Next Big Thing?
So there it is – a little note of inspiration that also helps me to carry on what I enjoy doing: blogging and sharing the passion about online marketing with others. What about you? Do you also struggle with finding motivation? Share your thoughts below, happy to connect!
