5 ways to beat blogger envy

I'm pretty sure every blogger has felt envious at some point. I know I have! I remember looking at one particular blog, which had 300 followers, and being desperately jealous that, although it had started in the same month as me, it had so many more followers than mine did. 
Of course, the problem is that jealousy gets you nowhere. All it does it fester inside you and turn you bitter. Not exactly the most productive approach! 

Luckily, I managed to turn this around and use it to my advantage. It might sound odd, but it is possible to turn blogger envy into a positive. 

By the way, I struggled to find relevant photos for this, so I used photos of me with other bloggers. You know, to represent harmony within the blogging community or something. Mostly of Leona since I don't have many other photos of me with other bloggers.

Me with Helen, Becca and Islay. Photo taken by Islay. 

1. Retain perspective
I used to be so envious of blogs with over 1000 followers, despite the fact that some of those blogs were a year or two older than mine. I found it really helpful to go back through the archives of my favourite blogs and look at their early posts. It was a huge relief to see that they weren't the insanely good posts produced later. It made me realise that I could improve the way they have. For this reason, I've kept all of my early posts intact. Go and look through them if you want. They're terrible!  

2. Use your favourite bloggers as inspiration
Now, I'm not talking about copying. Don't copy! But use them as your motivation. What do you love about this blogger? If you love their use of photography, try to use a couple of their strategies. If it's their witty writing style that draws you in, work on adding humour to yours. Love their creativity? Spend some time developing your own. You get the picture. 

3. Get to know them!
It's hard to be jealous of somebody who you really like. Get to know the bloggers you look up to. Chat to them on Twitter, comment on their blog posts, drop them an email. If there's something you want to know, ask them! Ok, not everyone will reply, but they might give you some great advice. 

4. Help others
You never know, somebody might be jealous of you too! Think about what you do really well. Are you an amazing artist? Do you create incredible outfits or great photos? Use your strengths and advise others on how to improve. Once you realise that you have great talent too, it's easier to cope with envy. 

5. Focus on yourself
Similarly, concentrate on yourself. It's difficult not to compare yourself with others. Ok, so your favourite blogger takes perfect photos, but do they write as well as you do? Not everyone is perfect but everybody has something they're great at, and that includes you! Write a list of everything you are good at. Whenever you feel those pangs of jealousy setting in, take a look at your list and remind yourself of how awesome you are!
I hope that helps somewhat. Blogger envy is a pain but it doesn't need to be a negative. If you have any other tips, let me know!