No Pressure…
Funny how things change. One minute I’m just writing to write. Writing about the things going on in my life and things I care about and then all of a sudden it seems like people are paying attention. Things change when you actually have an audience don’t they?
Thanks to being featured on WordPress.com’s Freshly Pressed, in the past 24 hours my readership and my subscribers to my blog has gone up almost 10 times.
There’s actually a bit of pressure. I’m almost scared to write. What will people think now that they’re actually paying attention? What do I write about now? It’s questions like that that have been running through my mind through the past 24 hours.
Each of us deal with pressure in different ways. When you get any kind of notoriety or people start to take notice of what you’re doing it’s easy to start to compromise and do whatever you’re doing solely to get more people to take notice. Because it’s a rush. I’ll be honest…I’ve looked at my wordpress stats more in the past 24 hours then I ever have. Because it feels good to have someone notice your work.
But, it’s in those moments where we have to make a decision. The decision between living for those fleeting moments of success, praise, approval…or to choose to stick to your values. To stick to the game plan.
We have to choose the feeling of being valued or remaining true to who we are. That’s called integrity. That feeling of being valued is like nothing else. It really is. And it feels good. But it is just that…a feeling. And if there’s anything that feelings have taught us it’s that they’re misleading. As humans we have demonstrated over and over again that what seems right to us is not always a good indicator of what is right. What feels right is not always a good indicator as to what is the best decision and what’s the wise thing to do.
Don’t get me wrong. Pleasing people is something that makes me very happy. I know we shouldn’t care what people think about us, but I like people to like me. Call me vain or whatever, but I do…just being honest here. And I’m sure you have feelings like that as well, to some level. But at no point should we sacrifice our integrity or character in order to gain any kind of notoriety.
The challenge, to you, and, more importantly, to myself is to not buckle under the pressure. Whether it’s the pressure of what you want to become, the pressure of who you’ve already become or the pressure of what others want you to become. You be you.
When you do that…there’s no pressure.
A.J. Viola's Blog 
way to keep it real! 🙂
congrats on the feature
Don’t you dare stop writing. I am so happy that I found you on the Freshly Pressed page! You’re so expressive and so … real!
Very insightful! You need to write a book!!!
Thank you for this. I was Freshly Pressed this week too, and needed to read this. I haven’t been able to share another post because I keep wondering how you follow “the post that got so much attention” lol! I have come to the conclusion (and this post confirms it) that I just need to keep writing in my own voice about the things I enjoy writing about. Really simple isn’t it? 😉
This is exactly why I wrote this post! Thanks so much for sharing. I felt the same way. I’m so glad to hear that it was helpful to you.
Congratulations. Nicely written 🙂
Keep doing what you do. That’s why we are following the blog!
When you stay humble and true to Gods word he will continue to do great things thru you.
Loved this! 🙂
Having zero followers at the moment, you’ve inspired me to continue writing in the world of people who appreciate it. I write for myself, for my sanity and for the soft sound of clicking keys. Thank you for your talent, time and persistence. Bravo on being freshly pressed and keep it going. No pressure, just perseverance.
I love your writing.
I was freshly posted on my very first post. It was a werewolf cupcake. The problem is that one post to a large viewing audience, determined solely what my entire blog is about, which it is isn’t. That cupcake was just a small sampling of a vast array of material that I create and write about. Thank you for your words of encouragement, it helps in that determination to become freshly pressed again, so that others may see how much more quantity and quality I believe there is to my blog.