Why It’s OK To Take A Break and Gain Clarity Of Your Vision

If you’ve poked around my site the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed I’ve been a little M.I.A. My ghosting was intentional. I needed to step back and understand my vision for Cupcakes & Caviar and it’s social media sites.

If you’re reading this and have a side hustle, are trying to get a business off the ground, or have an idea but are completely lost as to how to execute it, then this post is for you.

[bctt tweet=”Everything is more fun with a purpose.” username=”cupcakescaviar”]

If you’re like me, then during the process of working towards your passion/dream/hustle you’ve probably gotten caught up in “being like others.” Don’t front, it happens. You see the girl on Instagram who is in a similar niche with thousands of followers and you’re like, oh, let me just do what she does, use the same hashtags, use the same cheesy ass captions and post the same amount of times a day. However, what happens? Your brand/blog/page/career does…not…grow. You start feeling less fulfilled and excited with what you are doing, and soon you’re writing and posting on the gram because you fee like you HAVE TO and not because you actually want to.

Ladies and gentleman, that was me for like the last 5 months! I was too preoccupied trying to “keep up with the Jones’s” in the blogging and social media world, that I completely lost my voice and my purpose. Writing posts felt like a chore and growing my brand felt pointless.

However, instead of throwing up my hands and screaming “F This,”

I gave my page a break and allowed myself to do some much-needed soul-searching and 2017 planning.  I’m now back in this biotch reinvigorated to bring you amazing content while remaining true to my voice and my vision.

So, if you think you might need a similar break, here are 5 reasons to help motivate you to do so.

5 Reasons It’s OK To Step-Back, Take A Break and Gain Clarity

1. Everything is more fun with a purpose

   What is your elevator pitch? In 30 seconds can you talk about why you do what you do? If not, take a break and figure it out! Once you do, your content will be more poppin’ and people will automatically be drawn to you because they know exactly what you are about!

   For example, I realized I DO NOT want to write just about food. I love food, but I also love event planning, women empowerment, getting to know my city etc. How could I incorporate this more into my blog? What would need to change? What can I do moving forward? These questions (and many more) led me to not only create this post but more like it in the future. I’d like to see Cupcakes & Caviar be the women’s guide to DC’s dining and lifestyle scene. BAM! Now I can still bring you the most poppin’ restaurants while also incorporating my love for the female voice and presence here in DC!

   If you need some help figuring it out, check out this post from the fabulous Emmelie on performing a blog audit HERE.

2. Your followers aren’t going anywhere

   Initially, I was pretty nervous to just fall off the grid. I thought I would lose all of the followers and subscribers I worked so hard to gain, but guess what? They’re still there. The number of people that unfollowed was insignificant. If you’re worried about taking some time to reflect and take care of YOU, don’t! Your real fans/riders/followers/squad will still be there ready to welcome you back with open arms.

3. If you don’t believe in your brand/vision, who will?

   It’s very easy to get discouraged and feel like A. your ideas aren’t good enough, B. you don’t have enough experience C. you don’t have a big enough following, etc. But you know all that self-doubt is pretty lame, right? Take a weekend and create a vision board, write a few freewriting journal entries, read some amazing inspirational kick-ass books like this one and this one, and/or meditate. Each of these activities will help kickstart your creative juices again and help you find that confidence to follow-through on your amazing ideas.

4. 2017 is around the corner

   Start planning your strategy for success in 2017 NOW! Want to re-brand? Do it NOW! Want to plan out your posts better? Start doing it NOW! Take some time to sit, pour yourself a glass of champagne or tea, and map out your strategic plan for 2017. Then, when the clock strikes midnight, you’re already in place to tackle the new year!

5. Even Beyoncé goes off the grid sometimes

   If the queen herself understands the value of taking a little step back, then you should too. Whenever Queen Bey disappears she comes back with a vengeance even more beautiful and talented then when she left. I know you remember the dropping of formation right? Or when she put her tour on pause for “vocal rest?” Shit happens, self-care comes first, and sometimes creatives just need some quiet space to perfect their craft. There are only positive things that can come out of it.

I would be completely bullshitting you if I said, at this very moment, I have full clarity of my vision and purpose, but it definitely is much clearer to me and there is no better time to put into practice what I have learned in my time off, then NOW! I can’t wait to kick ass in 2017!

Have you ever taken a similar pause or break? Have you felt similar “burnout?” Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, please feel free to share amongst your social channels 🙂

*Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links. If you purchase anything from these links I will get a little portion of that. I appreciate you and your help in continuing to make this blog possible! Besos! 🙂