I'm stuck!
Hello Wealthy Affiliates! :)
I hope you won't mind if I offload on you a little... I hope that in doing so, I may actually be of service to the community in some way! :)
I'd hoped my first blog post here would be more positive sounding! Truth be told, I'm still hoping that this very post will shake me loose from the sticky mire of 'stuck-ness' I find myself in ;)
So, here it is...
I came down with a horrible cold this week and seemed to lose all my momentum. I had, up to that point, been working through the training at a relaxed but steady pace, feeling really positive about my niche and the first post I wrote, and loving interacting with the community here (okay, that bit still hasn't changed thankfully)! :)
However, since I started feeling all 'under the weather' the true scope of the task in front of me really set in! I became painfully aware of HOW MUCH HARD WORK I'm going to need to put into this in order to have the lifestyle I want, and how hard I actually find it to write GOOD CONTENT THAT I BELIEVE IN on command!
I'm not proud of it, but I became totally overwhelmed by this feeling that I wasn't good enough to succeed at this, that I would somehow be 'found out' to be inadequate, and that the whole thing would end up being a failure. Despair, that's the feeling...
I ended up feeling completely bemused and jealous that some people are managing to write multiple posts every day, and feeling really pathetic that I struggling to manage writing one post a week, even though I love my niche and have loads of great ideas for material on it!!
It then struck me that I put myself under an incredible amount of pressure to 'succeed' and not to allow myself any moments of weakness, which is probably not helping me to recover, or progress, at all! I need to accept my limitations to move forwards...
I assume that this is not uncommon among us here at WA - I am as I imagine many of you are: hungry for success, hungry to escape all those jobs I never felt right doing, hungry to leave behind lifestyles that limit me... and I can be my own harshest critic in times when I'm not living up to my own exacting standards!
But you know what I now realise? I DIDN'T COME HERE TO BE MY OWN ENEMY, MAKE MY LIFE MISERABLE OR BE A SLAVE-DRIVER TO MYSELF!!! :D
I need to stop comparing my own progress to that of others, and give myself the time I need to recover and regroup! I'm all about building strong, steady foundations, and forcing myself to move forward with grim resolve when I'm feeling low doesn't actually help me to achieve anything much at all!
So, I hope what you'll take away from this is the importance of BEING KIND TO YOURSELF!!! Give yourself the time you need when you're feeling low, reach out for support, get creative with the 'stuck-ness' and let it run its course :)
After all, did we come to WA because we WANT to be working ourselves to the bone and making ourselves ill with stress and pressure?! I hope not!!
Thanks for listening ( seriously, I feel much better already :D ) and I hope this may be of help to someone! :)
Cheers,
Tim
Recent Comments
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I always remind myself of a great quote" doesn't matter how slow you go just once you don't stop" wealthy affiliate is your own journey and not a competition. Cheers Daragh
I'm right there with you Tim! I am going through the same thing. It is nice to see that we have a community here that cares about us!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Glenn
Nice one Glenn! :)
It's definitely amazing to be able to reach out and get such great support so quickly!
I'm humbled by you guys :)
Thanks :)
After the cold that you had your energy levels (physical & mental) will be down so if you were going to have a loss of impetus now would be the time for it.
As for content, some people have no problem but others like myself struggle. I try to be practical about it. I throw down all the things I want to be in the article then I list a structure. I then squeeze the interesting bits into the structure. That way I find I am 75% done. I add some nice formatting and an image or two.
By now the article should look reasonable so I take a break. When I come back to the article may be some extra piece of genius will kick in to make the article stand out. Then re-check for errors and publish. It won't be perfect (it never is) but it will there ready for people to comment & criticise.
Don't be daunted by the size of the task, it's a marathon not a sprint. Plod on for two or three weeks doing an article when you can. You will get better and faster. Soon your site will come together.
You are right, your article did help me.
Bob
Thank you Bob!! :)
You're so right - breaking down the articles and planning their structure first is a really good way to go! :)
I used to do that with all my college essays, so why would this be any different?! :D
Sometimes the simplest things can help the most you know? :)
Your reassurance means a lot to me mate,
Thanks so much and all the best :)
Hang in there Tim
... we ALL go thru "Stuff"!
Be kind to yourself, but keep your "eye on the prize".
Hey Tim,
You know what? You are NOT in this alone.
You just described what so many of us experience periodically while going through the training and realizing what an enormous amount of information we have to absorb.
You are right ... you NEED to be kind to yourself, TAKE TIME OUT to care for your health, and refresh your spirits. Your self confidence and motivation will return.
Also, remember that this is not a race with the other members as to how much ground you cover in a specific amount of time. Everyone proceeds at their own pace ... what you achieve each day or each week is the right amount for you.
Be sure to pat yourself on the back for every step forward you do make!
And especially for today, because you reached out to the community for an emotional boost. Group Hugs are GOOD!
Cheers from Elinor
Thanks Elinor! :D
That brought a real smile to my face :D
You're totally right, it's a beautiful thing we've got here where we're in true cooperation rather than the competitive world of work most of us are leaving behind! :)
It means a lot that I've had so many responses so quickly too... I really wasn't expecting that :D
Anyway, thanks again for the pep talk and the group hug ;)
All the best to you x
Yes it was helpfull for me mister :) Close to my situation... so let's stay focus on our personals goals and give ourself the time and opportunity to grow. Cheers ! And enjoy the process !!!
Thanks Jeff, exactly! 'Driving towards success' means knowing when to accelerate and when to slow down too! :)
Hi Tim, we all get stuck once in a while.
So my tip of today is:
Use Google more often, when you are outoff inspiration, put your keyword in the search and Google IMAGES
And write your post around the images instead of writing a post and then look for images.
Like you, i felt the same thing sometimes and doubted my ability if i ever get really successful in this. But everyone started from somewhere and had experience hurdles as they go along to promote their business. Im not an expert on this and im vulnerable too but at this stage, im only thinking what needs to be done and follow the steps of those who had been succcessful but i feel you bro. As for me, who knows what lies ahead? I dont think much whether i succeed or not, just enjoy the journey and help will be there when we focus only on success. Glad that you start feeling a bit better. I can help only what i can but im sure there are more tested and successful people on here that can help. I wish you only success bro.
Thanks Ollie,
Just being able to connect with people here helps a lot! I don't need experts or professionals right now, just good humans :)
Thanks again and all the best to you bro :)
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Tim,
Such a normal spot to be in. When we work at home we have to be our own self healers, at least with the help of our many net work friends. Talking about it and asking for ideas is such a natural mood booster! Makes the "I can't do this" go away, and the return of in a day or so of "I can!" When I measure my progress to some of the others who appeared here when I did, I am on level one, lesson one! When I compare myself from where I started, the lack of knowledge and basics, I am very far along the way!
Know that you will soon be recovered and on the road! This is such a great journey, there is no way to not keep going!
Sami
Thank you Sami, you're so right, thank you for your kind and wise words! :)
It's hard to take the pressure off sometimes when I know I'm going to run out of money at some point and I don't want to be faced with difficult decisions! Nevertheless, reaching out to you lovely lot here makes everything much easier :)
Again, thank you! :D x