Earlier this year, I made a promise to myself that I would only return to blogging once I could open up and be more honest with all of you. And the reason for this – over the past few months, I really feel that I have grown as a person. I am now more comfortable to share aspects of my life which are less than perfect. This doesn’t mean that I will stop writing about styling and putting outfits together! Instead it means that apart from the outfits, you will also be reading more and more about motherhood and the realities of my daily life.
So to put this post in context, I wanted to share with you how early last year, I had honestly started to feel very lost (not only with my words but also with my identity as a blogger). And it took me some time to realise the reasons for this but now I can relate it to the feeling of losing my vision for the blog. Internally, I had started to feel that I was solely producing content for my audience and sponsors (and it became less to satisfy myself).
Now I am sure some of you would agree, as bloggers it is completely normal to have such feelings occasionally. But in my case, these feelings were making me feel highly de-motivated and I was losing my self-confidence. So at that point, I thought with everything else going on my life, it would be best to take a break so I could really focus on myself.
Moving on to present day, I can firmly say that this was one of the best decisions I made for myself. Not only am I in a more positive state of mind but the thought process that followed, really allowed me to de-clutter my mind and focus on what was important to me. So I really wanted to share with you what I learned for myself and how these lessons helped me find my motivation again.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF LOVE – In the busy lives we lead, we often forget to prioritise ourselves and our own needs. I know as a mother I still struggle with taking time out for myself. But the moment you start spending more time with yourself (doing something you love), you will feel an unbelievable amount of energy. You also learn to stop criticising yourself and feel more content in life. Of course all of this doesn’t happen instantly, but you need to continue to dedicate enough time to yourself and your needs. A great way to start would be to dedicate an hour a day to yourself. I find the morning time when the kids are in school works best for me. It helps sets the tone for the entire day and I am definitely a better person.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING POSITIVE – Being away from social media, really allowed me to clear my mind from any negativity that had been holding me back in the past. I started to make more of a conscious effort to live a more positive life for myself and the children. It’s important to realise that things may not always go as planned. But when you try to stay more positive you can focus on yourself, reassess the situation and create new goals. Holding on to negativity, doesn’t take you far, instead it continuously brings you down.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVING IN YOURSELF – It is so crucial to believe in yourself and your decisions, this will inevitably lead to happiness. When you choose to make a decision for yourself; you also need to learn that you don’t need to justify that decision to anyone else. So in my case, I have chosen to stay at home with the kids and not to do a “traditional job role”. This is something that works best for me and I know I often face judgement for it. But this is something I have chosen to do because I am passionate about my blog. The time that I took off, really allowed me to firmly believe in myself. And when I knew I was doing what was best for me, I naturally started to feel more inspired to create again.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING THANKFUL – When you are able to take time off for yourself, you also start to appreciate the small things in life. Without the pressure of deadlines and trying to create a “beautiful Instagram feed”, I started to enjoy life on a slower pace and felt so thankful for everything around me. I was enjoying the little moments in life more than stressing out about the amount of likes I was receiving of Instagram. It truly helped me release a crazy amount of tension I used to feel in the past.
Our lives are constantly evolving; and there are always going to be new challenges or surprises thrown at us. In my opinion, the best way to get through them is with positivity and having the belief that you are learning something new through this experience. I would love to hear from you too, if you’ve taken time away from social media or something negative holding you back, how did it make you feel?
SHOP THE LOOK
Top: Mango | Trousers : Topshop | Shoes: Zara | Earrings: Zara | Sunglasses: Quay Australia |
Great post, thanks for sharing! I love taking a social media break and I think it can have such a positive effect. I am trying to balance the time I spend on social media and I always feel better after a break from it! 🙂
Camille xo
http://www.cococami.blogspot.com
This is such a heartfelt and true post. Thank you for sharing this. I think we all feel this way about social media. Bloggers as well as non-bloggers all go through these feelings as we see others post highlights of their best life and we tend to compare our lives to perfect images. All of your lessons learned are really great to keep in the back of your mind. We need to stop comparing ourselves and accept and be happy with what we have. We can use those images to inspire us, but definitely not to tear us down. I love this embellished sweater and how you styled it with these plaid pants. Such a chic look! xoxo, Christine
http://dailykongfidence.com/
Thank you so much for this post. I enjoyed reading every single word of it. I can relate to all that you have shared about taking a break. I’ve been feeling exhausted am starting to realize it’s ok to take it easy and just say no in order to prioritize what really matters. I agree with staying positive. There is so much negativity and it can be toxic. Staying thankful and grateful is always key too.
Sandy
http://chicstylingsblog.com
I really enjoyed reading your article and I completely agree with what you have written. It is so important to have self love, think positively, believing in yourself and being thankful. Sometimes I fall into the competition trap and it’s so hard to get out of it. I’m trying hard to focus on myself and set strict limits on how much I let social media effect my life. You look great and thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Aliya
http://www.stylebyaliya.com
I thought about taking a social media break too. Actually I have been taking short breaks. I often disappear between Christmas and New Year, because those times are precious family time and it doesn’t be disturbed by social media. And I often take breaks during the weekends. Weekends are again friends and family time for me. So I pretty much only ‘work’ from Monday to Friday 🙂
xx, Jessie
http://4evajessie.com/desert-party-with-revolvefestival-during-coachella-weekend-2018/
Hey Sweetie 🙂
How are you?
100% agree with you in Everything!!!!
Social Media Break is Important, And Believing ourselves and Stay Positive as well.
I am happy that you ar Back, I missed your Posts:)
Love your Loooook, Ohhhh sooo Pretty Earrings and Pants:) Plus Love that Top toooo:)
Wish you Happy New Week
Kisses Love
Open Kloset By Karina
I love this “new” you. I’m think is very important to give yourself to your public., sometimes tell a little story about you. Your tips looking deep and thoughtful values. Anyone of us need to have a break sometimes.
Xx
Eva
http://www.themermaidfashion.com
Thank you so much for posting this and sharing this with everyone. As scary as it is, more and more ladies are coming out and speaking out about the stressed of constantly being on social media, and speaking from only doing it for a short while…. it’s stressful!!! It is great to have more women accepting that it is difficult, and forming support and encouragement in this industry!
So proud of you for taking a step back and taking care of the most important thing- you!
xoxo,
E
I loved reading your post, is very hard to decide when you are a blogger to stay true to yourself or write what your audience wants to hear. I am glad you took time off to reflect and on you. It can be intimidating to share stories of your true life but I think people can relate to real-life stories. I love your look, by the way, the embellished sweater is so beautiful on you!
Aurela x
http://www.aurelafashionista.com
Thank you so much for sharing this inspiring post and more of your experiences as you said. I love all your reminders and I will bookmark this post to read it again from time to time. BTW, I love the pants you are wearing and how you have styled them too. Also, images are so beautiful.
Thank you for posting and sharing with us, taking a break from social media can be such a good cleanse. I will keep reminding myself of all the reminders you posted about when I am needing it, the pictures are great, welcome back!
~xo Sheree
poshclassymom.com
Thank you for sharing and welcome back! Taking a break is so good ! It allows you to recharge. I think no matter where we are in life people will always judge or have their own opinions. Quite frankly we all go through these moments of demotivation. Self love is so big! I’m working on it myself
I really like this post! Thanks for sharing such a personal thought. I totally agree, sometimes taking a break from social media is like a detox for the soul, because as a bloggers we are immersed in the social media world that is totally time consuming and we forget to appreciate all the important things that surround us.
So, welcome back girly!
Vanessa
http://thefashionstatement.net
I LOVED reading this post! I have felt this so many times and have taken many breaks from Instagram. It’s so easy to get caught up in it all, to the point where you lose yourself. It is so refreshing to take a social media break to declutter your mind and to relax! All of the points you made for what you learned while taking your break, are key. Self-love, Positivity, Believing in yourself and being thankful are all so important in this journey! Thanks for sharing!
XO
Tandya
http://www.simplytandya.com
I LOVED reading this post! I have felt this so many times and have taken many breaks from Instagram. It’s so easy to get caught up in it all, to the point where you lose yourself. It is so refreshing to take a social media break to declutter your mind and to relax! All of the points you made for what you learned while taking your break, are key. Self-love, Positivity, Believing in yourself and being thankful are all so important in this journey!
XO
Tandya
http://www.simplytandya.com
Hello dear,
I had a huge break from the social media as well, and I totally understand all things mentioned in the article.
I’m still mastering skills of self-love. self-believe, and positive mindset. And I feel that I’m making a progress.
xoxo
Darya
I agree, sometimes a break from social media is necessary. We can get so caught up on everything being and looking perfect that we forget why we started in the first place. I am glad you’ve come back feeling refreshed, inspired and open to being more open with your readers! I can’t wait to watch the new journey of your blog unfold 🙂
http://www.thebeautybeau.com