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*warning: this is a long one!

I didn’t post on Monday. This might not seem like a big deal to you, and likely you didn’t even notice, but trust me, I did. I cannot remember the last time I skipped a Monday post. I really like posting on Mondays. It makes me feel like I’ve started my week off on the right foot and reinvigorates my love for this beautiful community I am proud to be a part of. 

But this Monday was different.

I actually had a post written, but at 2:00 AM I decided to unschedule it. After tossing and turning in bed I realized that my intuition was telling me that this post was not authentically “me”. I was stressing over how my words would be interpreted, if I even had the authority to speak knowledgeably on the topic or if it was even worth talking about at all. Because my gut was telling me not to post it, I didn’t. Two days later I am happy I didn’t. It’s given me time to reflect on both the content of the post and why I had such a hard time sharing it. *edited: In some sick turn of events I accidentally scheduled that post for this morning so I guess I ended up sharing it anyway. FML.

When I first started blogging no one knew about my blog. At least no one in my “real life”. It was easy for me to talk about whatever I wanted because I felt anonymous. Eventually I did open up to sharing my blog with my friends and family and began connecting with other bloggers in the healthy living community. I do not regret this decision one bit. I’ve learned more about myself and what I feel passionate about in the last year of blogging than I have in the last 5 years! I attribute a lot of this to my own blog, but also to the amazing bloggers who inspire me everyday.

In the 402 days I’ve been blogging I have become increasingly aware of my readers. Having readers is a great thing. Who doesn’t want people to read their blog?! I could not be more grateful for the people who come here everyday or stop by every so often. Your opinions matter to me, what you want to see matters to me. I want you to come here and enjoy a recipe or a workout or at the very least a good laugh about the ridiculous events that go down in my life. 

Then there are my friends, family and fellow bloggers who I love dearly but are very quick to share their opinions with me.

blog quotes

Don’t get me wrong, I ask for a lot of feedback too. This is something that I will likely continue to do, but I need to start taking this feedback with a grain of salt.

I have a tendency of letting in too many voices. I let these voices dictate my decisions and I lose myself in the process. I’ve been finding that despite the millions of thoughts coursing through my head, I have very little to say. Mainly because I’ve let other people’s opinions (both direct and indirect) become infiltrated with my own. This can be confusing, contradictory and just plain exhausting. 

Lately I have felt far more inspired in the kitchen and with my camera than I have with my words. I don’t have profound thoughts or insights to share but I do have an insane amount of foodie creativity pulsing through me.

Maybe I’ll post too many recipes for you, or maybe you’ll be totally stoked about this. Maybe next week I’ll rediscover my inner buddha and guru Davs will pretend like she has something worthwhile to say. Or maybe you’re pissed that The Healthy Maven is now more than just a hobby for me, it is a business. 

I want to consider your opinions, they matter to me. I want to post recipes you want to see and want to make. I want you to also feel like I am present when I post. That I am 100% authentic with everything I have to say. But I’ve also come to realize that I can’t please everybody.

When I try to be something I am not, I forget who I am in the first place. 

This post is my way of finding my blogging voice.

be yourself
{source}

phew I feel better 🙂

Are you someone who considers other people’s opinions? Bloggers, have you ever felt like you’ve “lost your voice”?

Meet the Maven

Hi! I'm Davida and welcome to my corner of the internet. I'm a wellness blogger, yoga teacher, certified herbalist, and green beauty lover.

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58 Comments

  1. not gonna lie, that’s a hard question. And probably why i don’t ask those questions a lot to my “readers” per se. But i think you are doing this whole blog thing quite well. Your voice is YOU. like i said, it’s why i read. well, besides the amazing recipes. Be genuine yet bold.

  2. This is a brilliant post! The best thing we can all do is being 100% authentically ourselves. Your blog is wonderful and the recipes are fab. Keep being you and do what YOU love 🙂

  3. I definitely tend to let too many voices in, so I know exactly what you mean. In all parts of my life I’m always very eager for feedback, so I suck up every little bit I can get. Recently, when it comes to the blog and thinking about content and readers, I’ve had to remind myself that the influencing voices are a small and not necessarily representative sample – other bloggers. I looooove my fellow bloggers, but I’m not writing for them. I’m writing for all readers, and for me, if that makes sense.

    For what it is worth, your blog is one of the most authentic that I read. I always feel like I can count on you to tell us exactly what you think or feel, even if it goes against what everyone else is saying or doing at the moment. It’s one of my daily reads because of that and because of you, even though your recipes are way over my head sometimes. 🙂 I think you actually said something similar to me once, but I come here for you and to hear your take on things, regardless of what you are writing about. So keep being true to you and standing up to the voices when you don’t agree.

  4. I enjoy other people’s opinions, but at the end of the day it’s my blog and I want what I put into it to be me and the way if feel that it needs to be portrayed. I listen to my gut way before I listen to outside opinions!

  5. I’m about to give you my [very professional] opinion. Ready? Here it is… Do you, because you’re fabulous. It’s your blogging journey and you’re allowed to take whatever the heck kind of steps you want. I know it’s hard to ignore the voices of others, but just remember that following them won’t necessarily lead to happiness. You’ll just end up living someone else’s idea of a good life…

  6. I definitely think finding a voice is hard at first….I actually had planned to write a post about this too. Being YOU is most important and writing about what YOU want to write about while also taking others somewhat into consideration is key. ….though kinda tricky I’d say. I can speak for myself and say that I sometimes see successful blogs and think, maybe I should do that? Should I??? But honestly, I just need to CALM DOWN and do things my way for a bit. I don’t think there’s a right way and a wrong way, but there is always YOUR way and if you feel confident about it then that’s what you should do.

  7. I think your blog is great just the way it is! There are million blogs out there and if someone doesn’t connect with one, they don’t need to read it. You have all the readers you do because people like YOU and all your recipes. Everyone’s got an opinion, but I think it’s smart of you to take it with a grain of salt.

    Every now and then, I check in with people I’m close to in real life who read my blog every day (like my mom and close friends), and ask if it sounds like me. I want to know if they can picture me talking as they read my blog posts. As long as they keep saying yes, I know I’m being true to my own voice!

  8. I was never one to listen much to the opinion of others but I can see how easy it is to get caught up in other’s thoughts, especially when plastered all over the blog world are the exact phrases you mention above. You are doing an amazing job, keep it up and listen to your intuition.

  9. It’s my opinion or the highway.

    Just kidding. You live up to your blogs name for a reason- and that is why you needed that ‘funk’ early in the week and removing the most. At the end of the day, we can’t please everyone- we just can’t. Saying that, if we hit ‘post’ knowing what we wrote is 100% authentic and unapologetic- we’re giving ourselves the self respect we deserve.

    When you start eating boar, I’ll know you’ve lost your voice…because it can be hard to chew. Oh snap.

  10. Your blog is perfectly you! I love everything you post and always look forward to reading. Your a blogger I know I can trust 😉 I’ve felt pretty uninspired lately with my posts. I have been going since the end of June ’13 posting 5 times a week. Maybe i need a break? But it feels even harder to do that!