Self-Improvement & Staying Positive Whilst Blogging

After countless late nights hunched over my laptop, crying over coding, I'm finally happy with the direction in which my blog is growing. I love my theme, my photos and my content, but I didn't always feel this way about my blog. It's so easy to be drawn into feeling inadequate in the competitive world of blogging.

I have however come to realise that self-improvement and positivity is the key to maintaining a beautiful blog, so I've decided to share with you all some tips I've learnt along my blog's journey.

Love your blog.

If you don't love the content you're writing, then you can't expect others to love it either. Putting 100% effort into making sure you are happy with your blog is the best thing you can do for it. I spend hours tweaking my theme's HTML, re-taking photos over and over until I'm happy with them, all because I love my blog and I want to make it the best it can be.

Do compare yourself to others.

I have read so many posts that always tell bloggers not to compare themselves to others, but sometimes a little healthy competition can be good for a blog. Turn any jealousy or negative thoughts into inspiration. Yes, your blog may not be as good as theirs...yet. Note down all the things you find appealing about other's blogs and work on ways of creating the same type of appeal for your blog.

Find your passion.

When I first started my blog, I called it a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog. It was cringe-worthy to be brutally honest. I have never, and never will be, passionate about fashion. Yes I like clothes and I love buying them, but I'm not one to post OOTD photos or gush about the latest trends. My blog didn't last very long because of this lack of passion. However, I started to realise how much I love writing my ranty little SUCKS posts, and that makeup reviews make me happier than a blogger at a beauty stand. Find your passion and suddenly your content will improve dramatically.

Celebrate your improvements.

For three years running I have recreated the exact same photo in order to see just how much I've improved my photography and editing. It may seem like such a small thing to some bloggers, but looking back on how far you've come is such a good way to find positivity in your blog. Progress is natural, so every time you feel like your blog sucks, remind yourself how it sucks a little less than you thought it did a few months ago.

Always keep learning.

I don't just take one good photo then suddenly think I am the queen of all blog photography, that's not how it works. I am constantly looking for more effective ways to capture and edit my photos, learning more about composition and SEO and website HTML. Blogging is a never-ending learning curve where you can always improve on what you're good at. Never think you've hit a brick wall with the quality of your blog, there's always something you can learn to improve it.

Never settle for average.

Make every single post the best one you've ever written. If you don't like how a photo came out, delete it and take a new one. It doesn't matter if you write and re-write your opening paragraph 10 or 10,000 times, as long as you make it the best it can be. I often go back and re-write old posts that I feel no longer live up to the new standard I have set for my blog. Anyone can write content, but the key to a beautiful blog is content that reflects the time and effort you put into it. One lovingly written posts is better than twenty rushed ones. 

Stay inspired.

I often have days where I simply can't bring myself to write any posts for the upcoming week. I feel bored and out of touch with my blog. It's these days that I tend to dedicate to re-inspiring myself. I immerse myself in Pinterest, pinning pretty fonts and post ideas and tutorials. I read through my friend's blogs and search for makeup reviews of my favourite products. I also tend to carry my blog post ideas notebook with me everywhere just to jot down any sudden moments of inspiration that may strike. This is how I manage to stay so motivated with my blog, usually because as soon as I can an idea for a post I'm itching to sit down and get on with it.

Know when to call it a day.

When I was blogging every day, I found myself exhausted all the time. If you find that you're forcing yourself to blog and your heart is no longer in it, take a break. Posts which you've forced yourself to write are going to be the posts you delete later, the ones that don't fit in with your blog as you had no motivation to write them. Always take care of yourself when blogging, readers will always understand if you need some time away.

What are your tips for improving your blog?

Any more ways of staying positive?