Honesty is the best policy….right? So full disclosure here. I’ve been a little down in the details lately.

And just as positive energy motivates and encourages, negative energy unfortunately has double the power to do just the opposite–discourage and impede. By no means do I intend to complain or be unappreciative, but sometimes it’s just simply difficult to continue to focus on the positives. I know, I know…I sound like a cynical negative Nancy, but hey, we all have the right to get a little down every now and again, right?! And these thoughts/feelings are definitely having an effect on my creative juices and desire to put together a perfectly pretty and positive blog post as per usual. I hope you can understand and that you don’t hold it against me or BrightonTheDay.

The negatives of Blogging

So here’s how it all started. At the request of a few interested brands and in response to my long-overdue need, I decided earlier this week to finally bite the bullet and put together a “media kit” for parties interested in collaborating with BrightonTheDay. And in doing so, I’ve spent way too much a good deal of time staring at the numbers and the behind-the-scenes details (hopelessly wishing they would magically change!) on the BrightonTheDay google analytics (which is basically traffic statistics) page. I usually try not to focus on the numbers too much, but creating a media kit necessitates such a task. Needless to say, I wasn’t very impressed or satisfied with what I saw and wondered if I was doing something wrong. After getting bogged down in all the numbers, I couldn’t help but feel disheartened and a little hopeless, wondering how on earth I could compete or even dream of generating a somewhat impressive rate of traffic. To put it simply, the numbers haven’t really changed much from when I first began – isn’t that crazy?! In fact, they have slightly gone down, or remained static/relatively consistent at best.

I know what you’re thinking. Blogging isn’t about the numbers or the audience or anything but making me myself and I happy. And as long as I’m happy and love what I’m doing, that’s all that matters. But really? Come on now…how many of us believe and live by this standard? Although I absolutely LOVE working on this blog and it’s quite frankly my little labour of love, it’s only human nature to hope for success (or progress at least?) for the hard work that we invest. And I must admit, I do put a lot of hard work and time into this little blog. And now that I have a full time (and what sometimes feels like super-duper-all-consuming-time) job, it’s a little hard at times to justify or find the motivation to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Does that make sense?

I know I’ve asked you all before, but why do you like BrightonTheDay? How can I continue to inspire you, but also reach beyond Louisiana and Texas? If you have any ideas, please share! I’m all ears! I absolutely LOVE this blog, and honestly couldn’t imagine my life right now without out – I have to have SOME kind of outlet for releasing my creativity and thoughts amongst all the spreadsheets, financial statements, and accounting standards/rules/guidelines/you-name-it. Plus, it makes me happy! I just want to make sure I’m not missing any BIG picture details or issues here!

So if you’re a reader, I ask that you please comment and let me know what you like about BTD. Also, if you have an idea for helping the blog grow, please share! If you’re a fan and you think you’re friends would enjoy BTD, share it with them! Also, pinning images to pinterest has proven to be a BIG help with blog growth as well!

If you’re a blogger who enjoys BTD, and you visit often, would you consider adding brightontheday to your blogroll list? (ugh, I hate this question! But I figured if I asked it in this way, there would be no pressure or awkwardness!) And for those of you who already support BTD via your blogroll, THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION. I am so thankful and appreciative for your support.

And if you’re a brand or party interested in collaborating, well, that media kit is well on it’s way to being finished!

images via park & cube // laura D’Art // Kayture // silver nails // gary peppar / I’m KOO (NYFW2013) // Cupcakes & Cashmere for The Coveteur