Since starting a blog, I’ve truly learnt the value of championing yourself. Of celebrating your own achievements and not being afraid to share them with the world – however small. I think this may be through the uprising of self-care and self-love which clearly teaches you that you are worthy and we should love ourselves no matter what.
In my “real” life (I put real in quotation marks because my blog and my online business is very much my real life but you know, just for technicalities), nobody is really interested in my blog. I don’t get any form of encouragement or support from my parents or my boyfriend. I know that sounds terribly sad and sometimes you know, it does make me feel a little down but obviously we can’t force someone to be interested in something they’re not. Does my dad want to read a hair product review? (He’s bald) No, probably not.
Twitter is my go-to for sharing my achievements. I’ve built up a wonderful following on Twitter since starting my blog and talk to like-minded bloggers daily. For someone who’s relatively isolated and sometimes lonely, Twitter is a fantastic place. I have no qualms about sharing my milestones, achievements and opportunities I’ve received. It’s my Twitter after all, I can post what I want and why wouldn’t I want to share these things that make me proud of myself?
You could argue that I’m seeking validation and praise from the good folk of Twitter because I don’t receive it in my “real” life. I’m not. I’ve made friends on Twitter and you know what friends do? They support and congratulate you when things go your way. I never expect any praise for things but when I receive it, it’s a lovely little boost. If anything, I’m sharing my accomplishments for me. I want the world to see what I’ve done. Whether they reply or not, I don’t really mind. But I have something to offer.
What I’m trying to say is that I truly believe we should champion ourselves every single day. If you’ve hit a milestone that you’re proud of, share it. Even if it seems tiny and insignificant – it’s not. If it’s something you’ve worked hard for, it’ll never be insignificant. And speaking blogging specific here, we all started somewhere. We all worked / are working / will work up to that first 100 followers. The first 500. The first 1,000. It doesn’t really matter what anyone else is doing.
So whilst some of us have people at home who celebrate the fact we even breathe, some of us don’t. On an average day, I don’t really mind that my blog and my online business is kept entirely separately to everything else. Even though I’m self-employed and it’s my actual job and my way to make money. I have an amazing support system on Twitter and before anyone starts, yes, online friends are real friends!
Self-love doesn’t only mean drinking enough water, going for walks and having a Lush bubble bath. Self-love means being proud of ourselves, noticing when we’ve achieved something great (even if it doesn’t sound great to someone else) and being our own number 1 fan. Because if you don’t support and encourage yourself, then what’s the point? You deserve to share your achievements with the world. So if you’ve achieved something you’re proud of I urge you to:
- Write it down in a diary / calendar to mark the date
- Treat yourself to a take away / bubble bath / new book / cake
- Buy yourself some flowers
- Have a nap
- Have a break and read your book
- Dance around your room
- Let off a firework / party-popper
- Whatever the heck you want to do in order to celebrate you!