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| Image by Evgeni Dinev at freedigitalphotos.net |
I find it to be very common, especially on blogs about homemaking and family, that you only find posts about how you can make your life BETTER. This recipe will make your family happy, this home decor idea will make your hosue look better, or this financial tip will make you more succesful. Improvement is a huge deal in the blogging world and sometimes after reading these posts, I become overwhelmed and feel like I'm not good enough because obviously the people who posts these things have their lives together and I don't, right....?
Not really.
I think when it comes to this state of mind, we have to consider both the writers and readers of blogs.
No matter how many posts a writer makes about inspiring ideas or tips, their lives are not perfect because no one is perfect. For example, you might have found a really great blog about raising kids that has tons of kid's crafts, recipes, and parenting tips. But could it be possible that this woman's relationship with her husband is suffering because she spends all of her time with her kids? I think it is the responsibility of a blog writer to not only share their good times but also the rough times. I realize many blogs are for business or hobbies and do not reflect the personal lives of the author's so that's a different story. But I am saying that we shouldn't mask our lives and make them seem perfect. This already happens in so many areas of media today such as Photoshopped magazine photos of models. We need more "real" in the world.
Now consider yourself or others as readers. First of all, we have a choice to read or not to read. But who wants to miss out on the possibility of finding something totally inspiring or awesome on a blog? I would say that when you read blog posts, go into it knowing that you have limitations and that you are trying to improve - not perfect- yourself. For example, I love to coupon and use some on groceries for the week but I don't clip for hours on end or go to 5 different stores to get free toothpaste at one and free bread at another. Set limitations. Just because you agree with or enjoy something, doesn't mean you have to go all out for it.
Some of the blogs I read the most contain posts and ideas that I don't always agree with in regards to style, home, family, and faith. But honestly, if you agree with everything a person posts, you must be reading your own blog.
It's important to not try and imitate another person's life. God gave us the ability to make our own decisions based on past experience, advice from others, and consulting Him in prayer. Everyone is different -create the story of your life and enjoy it.
This is SO good and SO important! Well done, Jacquelyn. :) Actually, a few of my blogging friends and I had a big conversation on facebook the other day about this very thing, and we decided that we're all going to write posts on a similar topic next week! So keep an eye on Facebook for that; I'll be sharing their posts as well as mine. :)
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this, too--feeling like I'm not good enough because I can't do everything that everyone else does. But for heaven's sake, I'm just one woman, I can't do it all--and it doesn't make me a bad wife/homemaker/person if I DON'T do it all. :)