On Being Awesome : Are you spreading yourself too thin?

While at times I feel the content relating to steemit on steemit is a bit too much, as the platform is becoming a big part of many people's lives, that is to be expected and I often find myself wanting to chime in, so here it goes....

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First, what is being awesome?

Being awesome is acting in ways that are neither particularly selfish nor entirely selfless. Your actions are meant to benefit everyone, yourself included but not exclusively or at the expense of others. When we act this way, we find harmony with our surroundings and the we collectively come a little closer to reaching our full potential. My advice to all new users is simply that, "Be awesome".

One great thing about steemit is how connecting with others and creating bonds is not only easy, it's incentivized so everyone is doing it. There are many ways to connect and many distractions to fall into so I want to share some ideas about how to connect in ways that benefit everyone involved.

The one night stand vs. Going steady

Because getting a following requires us to go out and comment, get involved with different initiatives and groups, it's really easy to forget about someone the morning after. I am guilty of this as well. We don't want to be writing to no one and it's never guaranteed that our followers will see our posts in the sea of new material every day and with our busy lives. But we've all heard "quality over quantity". Just because you have a lot of followers doesn't mean you will get a lot of views. It's important to find balance between making new friends and keeping up with our old friend. I make an effort to check up on or dm some of my first friends on the platform whenever I start to feel we are losing touch with each other. Loyalty is rewarded with loyalty, they do the same for me. This makes your time at steemit more meaningful and also increases he chances of loyal upvotes from people who believe in what you are about.

The one way street

For content creators (as well as whales), it's easy to treat "followers" as simply "followers" or fans. This is especially true once you start making a name for yourself. The less we go out and support others, the less support there is to go around. Of course we all want to be respected and rewarded, but when you try to be deserving of that respect and reward, you invite it directly to you. Think about what you can do for others and for the community. If you like someone, show them support in every way you can. Is everything about this platform fair? No way! But there is so much good happening here and focusing on the bad will drain you, so fuck it! I know this from experience.

Don't live in a bubble It's all about empathy.

There's a whale bubble, a minnow bubble, a content creator bubble, an investor bubble, a steemit.chat bubble, a discord bubble and so on and so on. I am working on a bunch of future posts about the bubble realities that we live in. For now, just try to imagine what it's like being in someone else's shoes.

Don't just imagine the things you want to imagine, imagine the difficulties faced by those who don't understand you. Maybe they will understand you as soon as you make more of an effort to understand them. It's not just "what would I do?" Because not everyone is you. Everyone has different struggles and different believes, different fears and hopes, so when you put yourself in someone else's shoes, you need to be very imaginative about it, and also willing to challenge some of your own assumptions. You don't know what it's like growing up here or there. You may not understand the stress of a parent as well as you think you do. You may have forgotten what it's like to be young. You may have stereotypes about marajuana or Christianity or sports or video games or whatever else that may not hold true for everyone.

Don't bust a vein, it will come when it comes.

Many a life lesson can come to you while sitting on a toilet. Sometimes you know it's there and you want to let it out but it just won't come out. Forcing it isn't good for you. Take a break, get it off your mind, it will come when it's ready. Steemit can feel like work if you let it except your salary won't be stable or guaranteed. Why bother with that? You should be having a good time. All the most successful people on here are, to some extent. The best art is self indulgent, I'd say the best work is also self indulgent. My physical therapist loves helping people which is why I go out of my way to see her, she does a better job than anyone I've ever met. She cares and So I'm more than happy to give her my money, my upvotes or whatever she needs.

Be yourself, don't try to be something you are not

Not all of us were natural born writers. Anyone can learn, but is that really what you enjoy doing? If not, you probably want to find something else you can do on this platform. Curation is an obvious choice and there are many ways to go about it, even as a new user. You could help out one of the many initiatives. I'm personally a fan of steem delegation and curation projects that search for quality material like OCD run by @acidyo .

The possibilities are endless though. You could try to bring your profession here to steemit, whether you are a translator, teacher, doctor, or designer, you will be able to find people who are looking for your services if you search hard enough, this is still a very underdeveloped aspect of steemit so get on it! The key is to find what you enjoy. Users like @akrid man the chat rooms, assist people who need it and make sure steemit is more welcoming and fun. If you can't find your niche, try to make one.

Be the change

Little is accomplished by sitting around and whining(I'm speaking to myself as much as I speak to you). There is without a doubt a fair amount of injustice here if you look for it. Don't close your eyes to it but remember, whining won't get you far and it won't fix anything. Be positive and focus on what you can do to help others and help yourself. You have thousands of talented and passionate people just a few clicks away. Connect! Make something happen!

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It's almost as easy to think of solutions to problems as it is to complain about them and it's at least ten times more rewarding. At one point I felt that too many interactions were being motivated by selfishness, desperation or boredom. I felt quality content was taking a backseat to ass kissing.

I started the Be Awesome chats in an effort to make stronger relationships with steemians, not just for personal benefit but because a strong sense of community, understanding and empathy will benefit EVERYONE. I wanted a place where people came to talk about their passions, dreams, and beliefs and could find more and more ways to collaborate and help each other reach our full potential as individuals and as a community. We are small be we are already turning into a strong community.

Come join us

What are you passionate about? How can you make the community a better place? Leave a comment or come join us in the chat