The Art Of Perseverance Has Guided Me Over The Years

One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a writer/blogger is the art of perseverance. This has gotten me through the many struggles I have encountered during my writing career such as getting over my fear of not pleasing the masses. Writing in my own voice. Relinquishing the stress of people thinking that everything is about them. Writer's block.

The list goes on.

The art of perseverance has also gotten me over the gigantic hurdle of feeling as if I have to publish something earth shattering every single day.

About 95% of the time, I publish a daily blog column. These published blog columns resonate with the theme of this blog.

Our. Bodacious. Dog. Mom. Life.

What that boils down to is sharing our life as Dog Moms. Lisa works outside of our home Monday through Friday. I'm a Work At Home Dog Mom who works everyday.

It's along the same lines as Mommy Bloggers.

The Moms of human kids who blog about their daily happenings. 

I'll be the first to admit, most days and evenings, it's a struggle to compose a daily blog column. The art of perseverance has pushed me through that mud.

In my world, "mud" represents the amount of time staring at a blank screen. It's not that I don't have anything to write. I do. Lots. But this is where I struggle with the constant pull in 2 directions.

Do I write about the "lots?"

Or, do I wait until I have something really grand to write about and publish?

Over time, the art of perseverance has guided me in the right direction and that place is...

Writing about the daily stuff that happens in Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life. For some, it may seem mundane and not worthy of reading or even skimming through. That's okay.

For a lot of people, it's refreshing.

We're living in a time when most things are filtered and edited. And our esteem relies heavily on the amount of likes and shares we get from a particular post or photo. People are continuously trying to increase their audience and impress the masses whether it's a new group of friends, someone they just started dating, complete strangers, etc.

People tend to be reluctant with publicizing the reality of every day life. Which sucks because let's face it, most of us are there. It doesn't matter if you're a Dog Mom or a Mom to a human kid.

Sure, there is nothing pretty about cleaning dog puke from the carpet at 2 in the morning or (for the Moms of human kids out there) discovering dried baby vomit in your hair, but it happens. That's life.

That's exactly the shit you should be sharing because most people can relate to those moments. When you write in your voice, when you share the messy stuff, when you keep it real, you make connections. You make yourself relatable. You make yourself approachable. You generate conversations.

Before I made the decision to keep it real, I spent more time than I care to admit comparing myself to other Dog Mom bloggers. As I sat there reading blog after blog, I thought, "Wow! They're quite impressive." There are Dog Moms who travel the world with their kids and those who dress them in $100 custom made outfits.

Comparing those Dog Mom bloggers to Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life did me absolutely no good. It dampened my spirits. I certainly couldn't write blog column after blog column of our adventures across the United states or plaster my blog and Facebook page with travel photos. And, our kids are not adorned in pricey outfits decorated with gems and other bling.

A lot of great stuff has happened since I made the decision to write about the daily stuff. Not only does it lubricate the hamster wheel in my brain, but I've also made a lot of connections and had copious amounts of conversations about daily Dog Mom life with other Dog Moms.

I've also realized that there's a great deal of comfort and relatability in the less impressive stuff. The messy stuff. The daily grind that won't open the ceilings for confetti to drop.

On the flip side, I've got the critics and those who take everything personally. They will always be out there.

I've got thick skin. I will not allow the critics to bump me from my path. The critics and internet trolls do not pay my bills.

I'm not for everyone. I don't expect to be.