Blogging Crossroads & New Year Resolutions

When I started my blog just a little over 2 years ago I hadn't really thought much about why or what I was going to blog about, over the past years I have on several occasions thought 'what on earth am I doing?!' and had several blogging block moments, wondering if I should be doing something more, something better, have a direction or plan of attack.

But then, after I promise to rethink and do things better, I just ultimately carry on, in my mis matched way, sometimes joining whole heartily into memes and linkies convinced thats the way to go, then other months filling the pages with more personal thoughtful posts about my life, then there is the months of just reviews and sponsored posts, jumping and switching, turning my hand to different topics, but never really finding a set one which fits my 'bit of everything yet a whole lot of nothing' approach.

I have learnt so much this year about the blogging scene, I joined the ever volatile yet hugely helpful facebook parent blogger group, saw view points I hadn't thought much about before, realised that where there is a huge wealth of knowledge, there is also a lot of friction with different opinions. I stumbled into the possibilities of being paid to blog, and when, where and how I should go about it, listened to views and drawed my own conclusions on hotly debated topics.

Once again my blog brought me fantastic opportunities and great connections with some fantastic brands and products, which I thoroughly enjoy and hope to continue this year. I want to grow and nurture my blog, but I want to remain grounded in doing so, to ensure the love for it stays. The last thing I want is that it is no longer my adored hobby but a chore.

I spent far to long on occasions last year ignoring the real world around me, whilst I sat and hoped I could somehow catapult myself into fame and fortune through this hobby that steals my time. Then reality dawned, I do not want fame (a fortune would be nice tho!) but when you seek it you often push yourself further away from it, spending hours and hours trying to think of some way to improve my blog meant my blog was actually doing the opposite and not improving at all!

So I left my blog untouched throughout the summer months, whilst I cleared my head and spent valuable time away from the Internet, I came back and watched stats and ranks hoping that in some way they proved my worth and would open the way to greatness once again.

And now we are right at the start of a brand new year, which seems to symbolise change and new starts, people make resolutions, promise to stick to their new found plans and reinvent themselves. Several bloggers hanging up their hats and moving to pastures new, others promising to dedicate more time to their blogs and push hard to make them amazing with a list of points to keep them on track in their goal of grandeur

But this year I am not going to do either, no Ta Daaar January's here I am going to do this!

No that doesn't seem to work for me, I started the 365 challenge last year in a whim flowed on from several friends all starting it, and I failed miserably before a month was up, yet I look back through my albums of photos and have hundreds of thousands of them showcasing the year - yet sticking to a must do project, just made me loose heart altogether, turning off the expectation of the 365 challenge meant I ended the year with what I initially started the project for anyway - a showcase of photos.

If anything the past year has taught me so very much, but left me right back at the start.

Blogs are personal, and much like real life, each one is unique and amazing. Learn and improve but don't change too much, and don't try to do what someone else is doing just because they are good at it. The possibilities are there to use blogs as tools to gain new careers, incomes and opportunities but they come by when you find yourself truly enjoying what you're doing, not if you are falsly protesting your enjoyment and fighting to gain status in a strange I must do this sort of way.

So my blog will remain the mis match of photos, snippets of our life, memes and reviews. I will continue doing so for as long as it continues to make me smile, I will continue to warmly accept offers from brands and snap hands of people offering new experiences which bring laughter and happiness to my children, I won't lie and say stats and rankings don't matter, I will continue to look and check them and smile when they rise, but over all I just want to carry on in the same direction as I did throughout the past 12 months and keep reminding myself of what my blog started for and why I love it so very much.

2013 is set to be a eventful year, my eldest turns 11 and starts senior school, my daughter reaches double figures too, whilst my youngest grows ever more away from the pre school stage as he turns 6 I want to capture these moments to look back on in years to come.

I love the sentiments that we truly do make our own destiny's and that we can shape our own future, with nothing ever set in stone, and with that I will continue to blog sporadically whilst I make my own way, no writing out a list of resolutions to stick too, no background thoughts changing the way the year pans out. No I will just take whatever comes my way and run head on into whatever opportunities arise.