The "Catch Up" Bug

“The minute I start to try and mimic someone else, is the minute I suck.

You will always get the best response when you’re being yourself.”

{Mariel, or so she says blog}

About two years ago I discovered blogging. When I mean discovered, I don’t mean that I didn’t have a blog. I had one for a while but I was never really connected to it. I am talking about community. I don’t even know how it happened, really. It seemed a wonderful community of amazing bloggers found their way into my heart and now I have many relationships/friendships with people all over the country. I was pretty much hooked. The challenge came when I realized my little space on the internet was, well, behind. I had neglected my blog so much, that I felt I had to “catch up” to where other bloggers were. Yup, I had gotten bit by the “catch up bug.” What is “the catch up bug?”

If the thought “Man, their blog is so advanced and awesome, I really have to get on the ball and get moving” ever has come to mind, then we are on the same page here. “The catch up bug” is when you are cruising through the blogosphere and stumble upon a blog or some blogs that you start to admire. Then all of a sudden, wham! You get bit! You start to compare your blog with theirs. And that is when you start to feel woozy, confused and dizzy. Did you ever feel like that? Maybe you are going through this right now!

When we admire other blogs, it can either make or break us. Admiration is not the problem; the problem lies when we move from admiration to comparison. Feel me? It’s when you go from “I love their blog, the graphics are great and the posts are full of valuable resources” to “Wow, my blog does NOT measure up to their blog at all! I really have to change something, make a new header, create bigger buttons, blah, blah, blah…” You then feel as though your blog is less valuable.

There is a saying that is fitting here:
"Don't compare your beginning to someone's middle."

What I want to tell you is that even though other blogs seem like they have all the bells and whistles {I really dislike using this phrase but it’s the only one that fit what I’m trying to say}, you have to take care of your blog in the state it is currently is in. It’s taken quite a bit of time for those bigger blogs to get to where they are. Focus on the stage your blog is right now, having goals but not neglecting the present. I am preaching to the choir here, that is why I’m writing this…because I’ve been there! Like yesterday haha

It is okay to have goals and things you want to try that other blogs are doing, whether it’s graphics or post ideas, but the challenge then is to make sure you are still genuine.

You see, there are many advantages and disadvantages to being bitten by the “catch up bug”:

ADVANTAGES

-         You get ideas & references to something different you want to try

-         It gets you out of your comfort zone

-         Your mind starts thinking in different ways, exploring new options

-         Helps to motivate you into “do it mode” and away from “what if mode”

DISADVANTAGES

-         You start to feel inadequate

-         You lose the essence of who you are by trying too many things

-         You don’t take time to think things through and instead act without a purpose

-         Your readers may start to get turned off

The fact is, there will always be a blog bigger, better and greater. Sorry it’s true! {except for this blog, it’s pretty much the best overall, in the entire universe.} Turn it around though; some people may just be starting out and looking up to your blog. They may start to compare their blog with yours. I’ll leave you with this advice if the “catch up bug” ever bites you. Before you take any action, wait a few days. Think about what you want to do, why, how it will benefit or not benefit your blog. Make a plan on how you can make it your own. After all, there another bug that is much worse than the “catch up bug” and that is the “copy cat bug”!