A Piece Of Advice To Live Life Sunny Side Up

Do you ever feel frustrated in your field, and find yourself comparing yourself to others?

Life is funny. One minute you feel ahead, the next behind, and for me a lot of those feelings are a result of the comparison game.

Particularly in this space of content creation, it’s far too easy to compare myself with others. How did so-and-so grow that fast?! Gosh that was creative; I need to be more creative. What should I be doing to have better content?! Why is her engagement better than mine?! I’m tired, yet shouldn’t I be putting in more work at night? So-and-so makes it all look so easy, why can’t I keep up better? Blah blah blah.

I’m only human. And I’ll be real with you: putting myself out there in this capacity can feel overwhelming sometimes. I love and am so grateful for this blog, don’t get me wrong, but there’s this constant internal battle I have about what is the right amount of sharing, and what’s too much. The constant churn and need for content can feel daunting at times, especially when you throw social media into the mix. In a lot of ways, though I’ve been blogging for a long time, I feel like I’m still figuring it all out, especially now that I’m trying to dive deeper into this space.

Then there’s the thoughts and comments of others as well, which inevitably happens when you’ve committed to a path like blogging that’s, well, highly visible. It can be tough to take in and sort through all the opinions, opinions, opinions thrown at you left and right. What you’re doing right, wrong, and critiques you need to consider. Follows, unfollows, clicks, engagement rates, impressions, page views, and the numbers start to get to you after a while.

Not complaining! Just noting. Every field has its struggles and I think the above are some interesting ones of this industry.

Aaaand take a deep breath.

I really have to stop and keep those feelings of comparison and “I have to be X, Y, Z to be successful” in check sometimes. To pause and remind myself, “You do you.” Which is something that I think we all can identify with, no matter what industry you’re in.

Anywhoo. The other day I read a quote that was like a big breath of fresh air.

 “Today I want you to think of all that you are, instead of all you are not.” 

It reminded me that we’re all okay just as we are. What we are not is far too easy to focus on, but that focus doesn’t tend to bring anything positive unless its harnessed correctly. What do I mean by that? Perhaps our internal battles should be looked upon more as opportunities and motivation to improve, rather than areas of harboring negativity toward ourselves or others.

A sunny side up way of viewing the world when you’re feeling a bit down or out of sorts. A more forgiving, happier, accept-life-but-also-know-you-can-change-it view of things.

A renewed focus on this mentality has allowed for me to embrace all the complexities of life right now. It’s also helped for me to be genuinely happy for others and their success, instead of feeling jealous and falling into the trap of comparing myself against them.

I figured I’d share that in case you’re in that zone too.

And speaking of living life on the sunny side, these photos were taken one day in Santorini, when the streets of Oia were calm and the town was at its best. Looking at them is making me smile, because I remember thinking while there, “I can’t wait for our weather to be like this over the summer”, and now a few weeks later Michigan is finally starting to look a lot like this. Warmer temps and sunny days. Summer has arrived. How’s that for sunny side up? 😉

Outfit Details + W Vintage Vibe

I’m wearing the most lovely dress from W Vintage Vibe, which is a Detroit-based online shop (female owned!) that has the most adorable finds. I was beyond honored that Camelle, the site founder, named this dress “Isn’t That Charming” after this blog. Seriously, how sweet is that?! Definitely go swing by W Vintage Vibe and check out all their clothing designs — I know you will love them!

Do you ever fall into the comparison trap? How do you manage and deal with it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!