Becoming A Better Blogger - #1: Kicking Jealousy To the Curb

Becoming A Better Blogger is a new series at Once Upon a Prologue; it's a combination of my feature If I Could Writer A Letter To Me, (inspired by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner) and my own thoughts on a chilly winter night.  Becoming A Better Blogger is about the things I've learned while blogging, the advice I've received, and about shedding lesser versions of myself - from the first growing pains of becoming a new blogger, to where I am now, and all the growth I hope to do.  As always, discussion is encouraged and welcomed!

Becoming A Better Blogger: Vanquishing Blogger Jealousy

Recently, I made my 2013 list - a list of books I've been lusting after.  This was mostly ARCs I "had" to have, be they books from debut authors, or sequels I need in my life.  I made the list, filled it to the brim, and then saved it and didn't think much about it for a few weeks.  Today, I took another look at it, and was surprised at what I found. 

Of the list, I could only remember what half of the books were even about. 

With that in mind, I set about trimming down that list, and asked myself an important question: which of these books was I passionate about?  Which of them had I added because I HAD to read them, and which had I added just thinking they looked interesting, or would be cool to have?  When I answered those questions, the list dropped to the titles I truly, genuinely want to read.  And since then I’ve been asking myself that question more often, especially when I see other blogger’s book hauls: that book is shiny and awesome-looking, but am I passionate about it?

Blogger jealousy is an ugly thing, and I don’t really like who it makes me.  Despite telling myself I wouldn’t go there, I fell into the trap of thinking I had to have ALL THE BOOKS.  I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is.  I see bloggers I admire who get five or ten books each week, and they all look AWESOME, and that little devil on my shoulder whispers “don’t you wish that was you?”

And you know what?  No, I don’t.  I mean sure, there's that part of me that does - hello, I'm human!  I love shiny, new, book-ish things, and there's ALWAYS something awesome coming out, something I think I - have - to have.  But...I don’t want the pressure of knowing I have a pile of books to review, because I take things like that seriously – and I start to stress.  I would rather keep things low-key, and read a few special review books, plus make time for the books I’ve bought that have been sitting on my shelf for WAY too long, waiting to be reviewed. I've been rejected for ARCs before and...I survived!  Nothing bad happened.  I just had to wait a little longer to read that certain book. 

So sure, I’ll miss out on some ARCs.  My book haul videos won’t be as epic as some other blogger’s are.  But they’ll be awesome just the same, because I’m reading, and I have this whole, amazing community in which to share my love of books.  And that’s enough for me.  

And that's what it comes down to: being ME.  Not anyone else.  Those other bloggers may have triple the review books I have, or a thousand more followers, but there's no guarantee they're happier than I am.  I started this blog to share my love of reading, and that's why I continue it.  Not for status or being one of the "cool" kids.  For me, and to share my love of reading!

What's your take on the green-eyed monster?  What have YOU learned about blogger jealousy, and what helped you overcome it?