If you’re an entrepreneur. If you are passionate about what you do. If you have big goals and ambitions. Then you will inevitably be discouraged at some point. I know, I sound like a Debbie downer, but I promise you, this post is not a downer. In fact, I hope it leaves you feeling encouraged.
Discouragement It’s something that we all have felt. At least I have. Because here’s the thing, we are human. We go through seasons of doubt, seasons of my plateaus or lulls, and even periods or seasons of confusion.Â
No matter if you are in the business of blogging or in the business of life, seasons like the ones I mentioned above can bring discouragement. Discouragement that usually is only brought upon us by ourselves. Â
We work hard, and we expect our hard work to become fruitful. Our roots to grow. We expect our passions and goals to get bigger and BETTER.
But the thing about these seasons is that they’re only just that, a season. Learning to get through them and learning to use them for the greater good, will help overcome any discouragement. Trust me, I’ve learned and relearned and will continue to learn to do this on a seasonal basis.
So today I want to share with you a few things that have helped me overcome discouragement, in the business of blogging and in  life. I’m sure there’s more than three, but these three have helped me focus on moving forward and staying positive.
All right, here we go!
- Encourage Others – Â Be the encourager! Stop focusing on you and focus on sharing others great content, their achievements, their hard work, etc. We are all in this together and we all need to lift each other up. It’s one reason why I started the monthly Cotter Chronicles post. I love sharing the many talents of my friends and fellow bloggers/entrepreneurs. And we all deserve a good pat on the back sometimes, ya know? Lindsay, Amanda, and Purely Twins have a weekly series where they share others content and it’s always a great read/encouragement! I know several others who do that as well.
- Branch Out – Â Are you stuck with ideas? Are you in a season of confusion where you just don’t know what else to do? Maybe it’s time to branch out of your niche.
- Ask a friend or colleague to write about their specialty on your site or vice versa.
- Learn a new technique for a recipe, or with your photography! Heck start a new workout. DO something different.
- Just don’t do the same thing you’ve been doing if it’s not working at the current moment. I don’t know about you, but I always feel more encouraged when I’ve learned something new and can share it with others! It’s why I asked my friend Maggie to write a guest post on Red Bean Rice cakes. I wanted to learn something new while at the same time promote her talents! She’s pretty amazing, yes!
-  Log off and Get Out – And lastly, get out. Get out the door, do something other than work. Disconnect. Get coffee with a friend. Get those thoughts OUT of your mind with other GOOD distractions. I will be the first to admit I struggle with this. And I am currently working on getting out more. Sometimes it just means taking a walk in nature or popping by to see family and saying hi. Because let’s face it, family and friends are pretty amazing encouragers!
I know there are a lot more ways to overcome discouragement. A LOT MORE! But sometimes sticking to a few simple ones are what work best. Â No need to overload the brain even more, right? Haha!
That being said, Fall is going to be a BUSY and FULL season for many of us. Let’s focus on making it a season of encouragement, of renewal, of growth (good growth)!
Looking for more posts about Blogging? I’ve gotcha covered!
Building Your Blogging Brand Part I
What’s one way you overcome discouragement? And just so you know, if you are ever feeling discouraged, feel free to tweet me. I got your back!Â
Linking up with Thinking out Loud Today.
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p.s.
Stay tuned for Saturday! I have a weekend update. Meaning I edited another OLD Healthy Bite recipe and will be reposting tomorrow! Because I just can’t stop making them. 😉
How did I miss these awesome tips? I say, “YES!” to all of them and right now this is what I need to hear more than anything!
as a new blogger and always juggling this thing called life, i needed this so much! enormous thanks!
Did you write this post just for me Lindsay? 😉 I’ve been working on some side projects that aren’t going like I had hoped they would, and I’ve been feeling very discouraged about it. Thanks for these great tips, and I’m so glad to know that bloggers who are WAY more successful than I am still get discouraged from time to time! 🙂 xo
Those projects will all pay off because you are passionate about them. Keep inspiring us friend!
Oh discouragement, it seems to creep up at the worst times.There are so many times when I start to question the end result and how the heck I’m suppose to get there. But I believe that these doubts and fears make you stronger and getting your head out of the game sometimes is exactly what you need to do! Going outside for a walk or going to see friends/family and not talk about your project is so helpful. Sometimes I go back to my written goals and just read them a few times. As always, your post has energized me to move forward and be proud of what I’m creating! Thanks Lindsay!!
well I am always here for you if you need to vent or just talk
It’s true we can all use a little encouragement from time to time. I know I certainly can, and I also find it so incredibly rewarding to help others.
I love the last one. Get out and away from work. It’s the hardest to do, yet it works like a charm. Great tips, Lindsay.
you give the best encouragement
I love all of these! And especially the one about encouraging others. It’s easy to start feeling all “woe is me” when you zero in on yourself and don’t look at anything else around you, but doing things for others shifts the focus and helps put things into perspective.
Exactly. And that attitude literally brings up back to zero.
Great tips, whenever I am feeling discouraged I look to my community.
Community is key! Amen
Love tip #1! I think it is so important to sometimes take the focus off of ourselves and encourage + support others!!
And yes, it is so helpful for me to take time away from the computer and just live life. You are such an encouragement!! xx
You are one to me! <3 you
These tips are so simple, yet so powerful. I’m so thankful to be a part of this amazing community! Thanks for the tips…and encouragement 🙂
Me too! We are here to uplift and encourage
I loved this post. Thanks for the encouragement, Lindsay! I especially love your third tip. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, sometimes I just need to step away for a minute to refocus. This could be spending time with my husband, meeting up with friends, or just spending some “me” time!
refocus, yes yes! needed
I absolutely love these tips. I had a discouraging day this week even and I can’t wait to keep these tips where I can see them for next week! 🙂
i hope your weekend is overflowing with encouragement!
Log off and Get Out. Now that is so true Lindsay. If I didn’t have it now scheduled in my blogging schedule to get out at least once every month, to go hill walking, rather than spending the whole weekends recipe trialing and taking photographs, I sure would go crazy!!
i wish i could come hike in your hood! haha, amazing!
You always seem to know when I need one of these posts. You are so encouraging to others and I wish I could give back what you give me. I am so stressed and have so many ideas and just want to go and yet I don’t have the time trying to take care and spend time with loved ones before they are no longer here while balancing the needs of my family and of course myself. I only have so many hours in the day and not enough of them right now.
You do the best you can and it’s pretty darn amazing!
I have missed your blog but this was a GREAT come back to post! You’re awesome!
I’ve been posting. Do you mean you coming back to read? Haha. I’m confused. But I missed you! Loving what you’re doing with be mom strong!
It’s so true that everyone deals with disappointment!! I think just writing this post is encouragement for others- to know it’s normal. Great tips, too. You’re always an amazing encouragement and support others so well!
I’m so thankful for your ongoing encouragement!
You are the sweetest. I like to get outside or in the gym when I’m down. it feels good to do something physical and sweat. A glass of wine doesn’t hurt either. 😉
amen to that!
Thank you for posting this. I often get caught up in a discouragement/unhappiness cycle and I sometimes have trouble getting out of it. I appreciate the tips!
anytime my friend!
Great tips girl!! You have an amazing blog! We are so blessed to call you a friend
xoxo
Great advice! I’ve been in a blogging fun before (or many times before) and these tips are actually what I had to do to get out of it.
Yes! Completely agree with #1 – sometimes I’ve even felt completely overwhelmed because I didn’t feel like I was generating content that really mattered. So what did I do? I encouraged everyone else until I started feeling inspired once again.
I think what’s also important is to not too much pressure on ourselves. If we feel like we have to do x in order to do y and that’s the only way to do it, then we can almost get paralyzed by trying to figure out how to get past the roadblock instead of trying something else!
I need to this Lindsay! I was up and down a lot since I started blogging. A LOT! I agree every point you mentioned. I believe log out is an important one. I still cannot free a day to relax during a week, but at least I’m trying to walk and move around more without sitting in front of my computer for hours.
Also, thanks for mentioning my name in the post! I’m blushing here 🙂
LOVE YOU LINDS. And let me know if someone is making you feel discouraged, I will beat them the f up. You better believe. Fists and blond hair flying.
I have to let it out–to Alex, my mom, and to my friends. Not so that they can puff hot air at me, but so that I can get it out and make roof for positive energy.
OMG I just love you! Badass
I love the simplicity of these tips! I especially think logging off and getting out is a big one. Staring at a computer all day isn’t gonna solve any problems! I also do my best thinking when I am away from the screen, and feel refreshed when I come back from a break.
I have to say YOU are one of my biggest encouragers and have been for a long time! I also struggle to disconnect, and with the feeling that I need to be productive all the time. It doesn’t work, it means a lot of frazzled wheel spinning and not much else. I have a lot to learn and do but it just can’t all be rushed the way I’d like it to be sometimes.