Recently, I talked to my mom about popularity and how some people are just destined to be popular. Growing up, most people knew if they were in the popular crowd or not. I would say that I was generally well-liked, but I definitely didn’t earn the title of popular. Honestly, this was okay. In life, there’s no simple guide to being popular because popularity can be a very complex issue. However, I do want to give some insight on why this is a complex issue, even if you have no desire to be popular.
When thinking and talking about popularity, it reminded me of Girl In Gamba. I will be honest in saying that it seems that some niches are easier to grow than others. Ultimately, I think lifestyle bloggers like myself have it relatively hard. However, I think everyone can gain some knowledge from this post.
In high school, college, and in post grad life, there is a competition to be popular that not everyone speaks about (especially as post graduates). I have friends that get to go to beautiful places for their jobs and I know people from my university that were featured in Nylon and Cosmopolitan magazine recently. The competition can be crushing because there is always someone that is more popular to you. Perhaps this is the perfectionist in me, speaking, but being the best has always been something I’ve strived for. How do I achieve this? How does anyone achieve this?
Related: How To Be A Perfectionist In An Imperfect World
So, no, this isn’t exactly a guide to being popular. It is rather a guide to knowing who you are in the grand scheme of a popularity contest.
Guide To Being Popular
Many people will tell you that being popular isn’t everything. I have to agree! Although freshman me in high school wanted to be popular, senior me had already found my place in that world. The thing is that when you go off to college and even when you graduate from a good university, being popular takes on a new meaning. You want to be popular at work, or you want to be popular in your program, or you want to popular in the blogging community. It makes you think about how important (or unimportant) these things are.
I feel bad for saying that I want my blog to be popular. What I mean by this is that I want people to read and enjoy what I have to say. Who doesn’t? I think every blogger wants people to read their content. The trick is to not become so obsessed with numbers and statistics.
What’s The Secret To Popularity?
Many bloggers know that there are tons of resources out there dedicated to blog growth. Titles range from “How To Get Amazing Pinterest Growth” or “How To Get Insane Blog Traffic”. These posts aim to offer secrets or a guide to being popular as a blogger. Maybe I should write one for post grad life! It can be so easy to fall into the rabbit hole of posts like these. I do have to admit that the information can be helpful, but from my experience, every blog is different and every person is different.
Related: Post Grad Life Confusion? Yeah, Me Too.
So, it can be incredibly hard to not compare your success to others because social media makes it so easy now. I think it’s important to note that every personal journey is different. Just because Sally was featured on Nylon yesterday doesn’t mean you’ll never be honored for your work. And just because Julie went to London for training for her new job doesn’t mean you won’t get to fly someone.
Now, I find myself trying to cut out the clutter and listen to my heart. I think this is ultimately the entire premise of a guide to being popular. Perhaps being popular is something that comes from within in this sense. It’s not necessarily something you’re born with.
Tips To Being Popular
Now, this wouldn’t technically be a guide without a few tips, am I right? Here are some ways to becoming popular or rather surviving the world’s popularity contests:
- Avoid overanalyzing
- Love what you do
- Be your own cheerleader
- Don’t be afraid to experiment
- Always be kind
And lastly, when I was talking to my mom about this subject, she gave me some really good advice: write from your heart and people will come.
What do you think about this whole popularity thing? Did this guide to being popular (or not) resonate with you? I’d love to chit chat about it in the comment section!
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This post is so trueeee. I really don’t think you should define your own success by comparing yourself to others, everyone moves at their own pace!