Struggling Steemit Users: You haven't lost! You've just not found how to win yet!
Years back I found that I didn't get very frustrated when things went wrong on tasks or projects as long as I had something else in mind to try. The massive feelings of dejection occurred ONLY when I ran out of things to attempt, that's when I wanted to tear my hair out causing the vicious spiral of being upset, too stressed to think outside the box, leading to more stress. Looking back on this, it's easy to see that I had other approaches available, but I was blind to this at the time.
Along these same lines, I see those newbies and minnows in particular that give up hope and possibly worse. The loss of hope is apparent and can lead down a vicious spiral. Some of this is talked about in @logic's post The Unfairness And Unrealistic Promises On Steemit Can Literally Make People Seriously Depressed.
I can relate to you guys! I still get that feeling at times when a post gets little attention that I thought was one of my best. (Most work put in doesn't always equal best!) The natural reaction is to think what did I do wrong, or why didn't anyone like this? We always have SOMETHING to improve whether it be related to writing, marketing, networking or our actual self.
Know that there are other things to try! If you can't find any, ask other users. This community is one of the most approachable and willing to help each other I've seen in a long time.
A few things to keep in mind when things don't go the way you should include:
Make realistic expectations of yourself. Nobody expects to buy one lottery ticket and win the big jackpot with it, this place is no different. Start with achievable goals like making each post a little better, learning new markdown/html formatting, making conversation in steem.chat or steemspeak.com, or maybe even commenting on a few posts by others. Whatever these are, set them having at least some idea of how you're going to achieve them or who you might ask for help. Simply saying I'm going to be the best writer ever doesn't exactly provide you with a clear path.
Find the things that you are going to do REGARDLESS of outcome! Just because your post didn't garner attention, you can't take this personally. If you felt this was honestly worth producing, it's still worth doing. The desire to simply make money isn't enough, this require passion for the task.
Everyone has value! Don't ever sell yourself short! Some share their value through writing, music, art, or maybe even just by offering a unique perspective. For those that don't prefer to share through blogging, there are other options such as steemswap.com where like Craigslist you can offer goods and services directly. If you don't quite know, use this experience to reflect on yourself to find what this would be.
Steemit is NOT like any other social media site out there right now. The need to network to connect with other users is often overlooked. Nobody likes that person who does nothing but scream "Hey, look at me" all the time. This is a two way street. Ways to do include striking up conversation in steem.chat, steemspeak.com, or through comments.
Remember there is always something else to try. Sometimes what prevents getting attention on a post isn't the content at all, but rather the marketing of it. Think of when you look at a list of posts, what do YOU click on? Why? Was it the headline that grabbed you, or maybe the photo? These are easy fixes that might get you on your way. (Handy tool for headlines)
Ask for help! This whole site is built around creating win/win scenarios. It's in the communities best interest to help you, so use this to your advantage. Steemit articles are also easily found in Google making it easy to find any type of guide, there's no need to start everything from scratch. If you're stuck feel free to hit me up in the new-members, newmembers channels or direct message in steemit.chat. This doesn't even have to be me, there are TONS of community members more than willing to lend a hand or point you in the right direction. This place is all about helping people get BETTER!
If all you feel is negativity, just step away for a while. Go do something that is enjoyable and come back later, we're not going anywhere. Personally, I find something just disgustingly cute to make me smile.
Good motivational post (even if it will not be enough to stop users complaining :P).
The only thing that I didn't like was the quote about hope.
I think that hope is often a trap, so we need to switch from Hope to Faith, or just abolish Hope and promote Action without Expectation.
Thank you! And yea, nothing will ever stop all the complaining, but if it even helps one, it's worth it to me. :)
I can see your point on the hope vs faith aspect. Personally I use those interchangeably, but I can see the difference others hold between the two terms.
The main concept I wanted to convey was two fold:
I do absolutely agree that the ideal is Action without Expectation, especially for the monetary side of things. But I know if I didn't get the emotional/social enjoyment out of things, my motivation fades. (Which is a big part of why I didn't write anything for at least the last 10 years.) While I'm only speaking for myself on this, I suspect there are others too that require it.
I suspect though, that we're probably not far off from having similar thoughts on this, that we just differ on the wording/semantics on most of it. Coming from a non-religious background, I know hope and faith are terms with vastly different meanings across individuals/groups.
When I talk about Faith, I don't mean in a religious way.
I think real faith is not connected to any religion.
To me it means confidence in our own potential and will to succeed, no matter if it takes efforts and initial frustration.
I'm on the same page with you there :)
Well, I think it has to do with tags also. I think all of my posts that earned anything had #payitforward tag. What is disheartening is that noone came and posted "hey, cool, something relevant, but now check my stuff out". That is how pif was supposed to work. :->
For me comments are much more important reward than cash, but I am probably failing in the marketing department. Steemit.chat is kind of hard to hang out from a mobile device. Before it was eating a lot of traffic, and now... The traffic is unlimited, but the internet is too slow. :->
Having said that, check out those spiderweb photos. One of them is probably the best photo that I've ever taken. You are offering to say how can the posts be improved, so I'd like to hear your advice. And don't forget to link back to this post. :-)
Good point on tags being important. Sometimes I switch one or two up from my norm just to see who else I might reach.
It's tough in the minnow groups. Even with the best of intentions, everyone can only read and meaningfully comment so much. I know I have an ebb and flow of focusing more on what I'm doing vs others.
I took a look at your post and left you a comment with a couple of improvement ideas. From there, if steem.chat if being problematic, we can just continue the conversation on your post. :)
Love it! Gotta keep on pushing and be you! I do what I do because its a release for me if someone ekse likes it, thats just a bonus. Thanks for sharing this, hopefully it will keep someone from leaving out of frustration and we can keep growing.
Thank you! Exactly!
Mindset it really what frames our reality tunnel and mood. The same info can be taken as good or bad. I'd be happy if this helped just one person.
This is really good information. I will have to admit, I was bummed at the start. I would spend hours and hours researching and writing and get 4 cents or nothing at all.
Sometimes I would see some quick post make $100's and just be amazed that a post like that made that much. But they have followers, so they must have done something right previously.
I continue to post and with time I get better and writing comes a little bit faster. If you continue to write quality content, eventually someone will spot you and you will be rewarded.
I commend you for sticking with it and I'm happy to see the nicer payout you've started getting!
If the joy is in creating the content itself, we've already won. The rest is bonus. :)
encouraging post~! thanks for this :D
Happy to do it!
Thank you :)
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I had a post yesterday that was basically venting my thoughts at the moment about how I am not seeing success with my post like many others. It takes time and there are a lot of factors at play like the whole "whales" and "bots." I think if you just take the time to think about what you post, how much effort, and being active in the steemit community.
You're welcome and you're spot on. It's takes time to build up and maintain the quality content, as well as how to market yourself and network with others. For the most part those that start with payouts in the thousands have already laid this foundation. The rest of us have to put in the same time and effort they did to get established.
I'm sure just about everyone here has had that same frustration that builds into a rant. I've had my own, the other podcast guys can vouch for that. Since I'm an all or nothing person with games or things like steemit, I constantly watch the risk of burnout. It's been helpful over the years to learn when frustrations of unmet expectations are starting to effect me, we'll before becoming a chronic problem.
Keep the gamer mentality of "There is ALWAYS a way to win. I've just got to find it." If there is no way to win, there's no point to playing the game any longer. The hardest thing to see is when it's time to change the rules. (i.e. win conditions)
P.S. Glad to see you in Steem Speak!
sykochica, we are not lose, only wait for good moment and gathering our spirit to move... Nice :)
Thank you! I love how you're always so upbeat! :D
i'm in the learning phase, your blog is great, thanks
Thank you!
Hopefully we are all consistently in a learning phase. :)
Feel free to hit me up if you have questions or problems. I don't claim to be an expert in everything, but I'm more than happy to help.
Your willingness to help other people is admiring! Thank you for your effort in making this place better. 😇
And especially I was moved by your focusing on good things. This is something we all should keep in mind.
Thanks you for featuring this! That's awesome!
I totally agree that those plagiarizers are sad to see. Not just cause they'll probably get caught by cheetah or others, but that they miss the whole point. Yes, there is money to be made, but it's about bearing one's soul to connect with others. This place is a society, not a job. :)
:D Wish you luck, so that optimism won't die indeed.
I keep searching for articles in Psychology to feature and today more that usual all I can find from accounts with low reputation is plagiarism or some bad quality posts...
So, I've decided to include your post in my TOP5 Lucky Find Psychology articles for today, as your article is just wonderful in all means, it is quite related to psychology, but most important is that I hope - maybe some minnows'll read it and give up on plagiarism and start producing decent posts. :)
Ty! It's something I wanted to spend more time doing. I get a lot of satisfaction from it and I hope I can spend some time weekly with one on one stuff.
Mindset is rarely talked about and easily forgotten. It's fun to periodically help with the reminder. Long live the optimist :P
Here's the post featuring your article:) :
https://steemit.com/psychology/@aleksandraz/daily-psychology-it-s-a-lucky-find-13-today-s-top-5
Lovely inspiring post which is applicable to life in general as well as Steemit.
Thank you! And you're absolutely right, mindset and hope (or lack of) carry into everything we do.
"I am the master who makes the grass green." :)
This is well articulated and truly helpful. I have felt many of these things myself, but I do appreciate what Steemit represents, and and see how the value is in the network, the interactions along the way.
Thank you! I really do think just about everyone has felt this, maybe short of miners, early adopters, and those with pre-existing followings.
For the rest of us, we bootstrap each other with encouragement, camaraderie and hope on our path to success.