Motivational speaker Tony Gaskins once said ‘Don’t lose yourself trying to be everything to everyone.’ & I think that is a pretty good quote to use to explain how I have been feeling this past month. Actually it’s been more than a month, it has been a few months now. Tired & stressed out, generally just run down to the point that writing a blog post & posting to Instagram felt like a chore – an obligation.
Rewind 2 years when I first started my blog, I remember feeling so nervous about putting myself out there. What would people think? Was my writing good enough? Would anyone actually read it? I remember waking up the next day and reading all the comments & shares from my friends (I love you guys lol) followed by a few pictures of the smoothie recipe I had shared. The thought of being able to do something I loved which could be beneficial to other people was the most exciting feeling ever. & that is pretty much where my blog began.
As my social media following & blog views started to pick up, I started to feel a little pressure to keep up the momentum, but sharing recipes & some of my favourite vegan beauty products was still very enjoyable for me. I loved practicing my photography & using this time to be creative.
I couldn’t contain my excitement when PR companies started approaching me. Could they send me some vegan beauty products to review? Would I like to try the newest vegan pizza in town? Erm – yes please!!
I poured my heart & soul into these reviews – because I genuinely loved the products & the thought of people able to inspire people to use products that didn’t test on animals or to try vegan options excited me.
Then after time sh*t stared to get crazy.
As my social media following continued to grow, my inbox started to fill up on a daily basis. Food review invites, media invites, product review, photo shoots, collaboration requests, magazine features. The events are exciting & who doesn’t like trying out new products?
It felt like the more I got, the more I wanted. The social media numbers game became addictive. I so desperately wanted to grow my account & I became stressed when I didn’t have time to post on social media.
Trying to keep up with everything started to take over my life. With a full time job & part time university, balancing the blog & social media was a struggle. I can’t count the number of times I have rushed home from work to try & take pictures before the sunset (every blogger knows this is the essential natural lighting right??).
A few weeks ago, I was brainstorming about what to share on my blog next. I came up with a topic & made a note in my calendar to take some pictures that following weekend. Friday came around & so did the reminder on my phone & I though to myself ‘urgh I totally can’t be assed with that today.’
& that is when it hit me.
I had lost myself.
In the social media numbers & status race that bloggers get caught up in, I had completely lost sight of why I started my blog. Something which I once loved doing had become a chore & that made me really upset.
& I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself. They say compassion is the thief of all joy & by comparing myself to other bloggers & social media accounts I put so much pressure on myself to post that I lost my inspiration.
I decided to take some time off my blog & social media to rethink the whole thing. I considered just deleting everything & just escaping this crazy influencer game.
I spent some time re-evaluating my values, enjoying the things I am passionate about without having to document them for the sake of social media/my blog & it felt good.
Once I had some head space & time out, I thought long & hard about my blog & whether I wanted to quit. I realised that I didn’t want to delete my blog, I just wanted to get back to basics & feel inspired again by putting my passions out into the world. I wanted to enjoy writing again & enjoy taking some time out to be creative. My blog had once been my down time & it was now something I took days off from!
By deleting my blog I would lose so many amazing social media friendships I have created, like-minded people & a great online vegan community which I love being part of. I would lose my platform, my opportunity to raise awareness about animal rights, marine life & saving our planet.
So instead of making the decision to get rid of my blog, I have made the decision to rebrand, renew, re-energize.
Not only have I changed my blog name, I have changed my mindset when it comes to blogging. Going forward I will not allow myself to feel any pressure to post & I am not going to let the craziness distract me from why I started blogging.
I might not be blogging as much from now on, but I won’t apologise because what I share will have been written with all the passion I have & with all the love in the world. Unless I am utterly obsessed with something/somewhere, it won’t be on the blog.
I really needed this time out & I am excited continue to share my passions & beliefs with you guys.
I hope you enjoyed my first post as Earth to Jessica & I hope this can inspire other people who are feeling a bit lost.
Jess xo
PS. Let me know what you think of the new blog!
Welcome back girl!
Woohoo!! Now we can collaborate again!! 😛
Happy to have you back!!!! Love you loads, Jess!!! xxx
Yay! Love you too! Xxx
welcome back.. 🤗 this is your passion jess dnt give up 😎💪
Thanks sis! ❤️ Miss you! 😍
I think that’s fantastic! Thanks for always being genuine in everything you say. Just know that as a reader, we appreciate the passion and energy you put forward for us and showing us what an inspiration you are to us. Thanks for being you!
I pretty much feel the same way and let myself take constant well needed breaks from social media. Theres no shame in doing that especiall if its for the sake of your mental health! Much love, Sara x
Change is a part of the journey. The most important thing is you didn’t succumb to the social media pressure and stayed true to who you are. Earth to Jessica is perfect. I love the new branding.