Success Takes Time, Stop Obsessing Over Stats
I see a lot of writers sharing how they got 500, or thousands of followers in a month. But what’s wrong with not having such a great start?
I’m not saying it’s wrong for us to share and celebrate our successes.
However, we have placed a lot of emphasis on growing fast. Not only on Medium but also in life.
When we see kids grasp concepts immediately, or writers hit thousands of views in their first month, we think:
- “Wow, they’re geniuses”
- “I’ll never grow and learn as fast as they do”
- “That’s crazy!!”
I’ve been guilty of such thoughts as well. Having only joined Medium in January, I’ve been interested in other writers’ success on the platform.
To be 100% honest, I’ve probably spent a few hours total just reading stories of other writers’ success.
It’s inspiring, but neither productive nor healthy.
Yes, some writers are incredible, and they’ve grown incredibly fast. But so what? Unless I learn how to do what they did and put in the hard work towards achieving such goals, this is a waste of time.
During that time I read an article on ‘How I Made $700 In My First Month!’, I could’ve been writing an article of my own, and improving my writing.
That would have been an actual way to be as successful as those writers.
Things Change
I think remembering this has been crucial on my short Medium journey.
- Just because I got a ton of views today, doesn’t mean I’ll get that many tomorrow.
- Just because I got no views today, doesn’t mean tomorrow my article won’t go viral.
Grit and humility are crucial to success here.
So what if [xxx] writer got thousands of followers in their first month? If they start slacking, and you slowly but steadily churn out high-quality content, you can overtake them.
It isn’t always the start that is worth commending.
Writing is a journey, and growth can be slow. That’s fine! Just keep at it, and you’ll find success and joy.
I hope you found this article insightful. Thanks for reading!
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