“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

Willie Nelson

It’s cold, it’s rainy, and the nights are very very dark. If you’re anything like me, work is manic. You've got a to-do list the length of both your arms and you’re trying to get lots of things done before the festive break. Plus, you've got a million and one other things going on, like you need to take your cat to the vets, your car needs its MOT and let’s not even start with Christmas shopping.

It can all get a bit overwhelming, right?

I've always believed in having a positive outlook on everything, and usually, I stay true to this. But I also know how unbelievably hard it is to keep smiling when it seems like one thing after another is going wrong.

Take this month for instance – because I've had various different jobs over the past year, my income hasn't been consistent. This month, I invested in a MacBook Pro, but I've also had to budget for my car’s MOT, my phone screen which smashed and needed repairing and various other outgoings. Knowing all this money is going out of my account could make me want to curl up in a ball and go into hibernation.

But, when you think about it in the bigger picture – it’s just one month.

Just. One. Month.

I stand by the fact that your mind controls everything. A positive outlook comes from your mind and no one else’s.

But there are times when it can seem impossible to change your negative thoughts.

Take for instance, being a blogger. Just go on social media once a day and you’ll be shocked at the amount of negativity and jealousy on there.

But as bloggers, we’re proud of what we create. We’re proud of publishing our latest post, proud of our words and proud of how it’s received. But when faced with people who maybe take things the wrong way or even worse – copy – it’s hard not to feel like you've been kicked in the stomach.

It’s difficult to deal with. You've worked hard to form your words together and write something that your audience wants to read. But when all of that satisfaction can be taken away with a few words from a stranger, you can become cynical and even start to feel negative about holding the title of a “blogger.”

This is also true for people’s opinions of bloggers. It’s funny, I remember having a conversation once with someone when I told them I blogged and they said:

“Oh, does that mean you get loads of really cool freebies, then?”

No, actually.

In the two years that I've been blogging, I've got two freebies, and these were because I included two brands in my 101 Best Websites series.

I didn't ask for them, I didn't email for them, I didn't advertise for them. I was given them.

Some people generalise when it comes to “bloggers”. They either don’t think it’s a real job, think it’s too easy, think we shouldn't be making money this way or, that we’re just in it for the freebies.

When usually, bloggers want to blog for completely different reasons.

Sometimes, we can feel negative about being a blogger because it gets such a bad name. It’s right that we don’t want to be associated with that word sometimes, because we know ourselves that we don’t come under that description. That isn't fair on the people who blog for real reasons.

We put the things we write, create and believe in out there online for everyone to read, see, share, enjoy, admire and be inspired by. Not to be torn apart or to be stolen from us.

But then again, don’t you feel sorry for them? The fact that they feel they have to do this, to achieve anything good with their online presence? The fact that they’re choosing to copy you? Yes, it’s not right. And no, it doesn't change the fact that they've done it. But you also can’t change the fact that what you've created is yours.

When you’re in a situation like this, you've got to stay positive. Easier said than done though, right? But I've found there’s something you can do to drastically change your thinking.

Go back to the start.

Go back to when you were just starting out. Go back to your first few posts. Go back to where it all began and remember what journey you've been on to get to where you are today.

Instead of feeling deflated, you should feel elevated. Think of everything you've built! You should feel proud, not challenged by everything. Take my situation. I could look at it in a really negative way. Or I could flip it on its head – I can afford to have a car, I can afford to have a decent phone, I saved up for years and worked my bum off to save up for a MacBook Pro. I've done all of that.

That’s what you need to do and I really encourage you to do it.

Don’t give up. Don’t let the mountain of things you've got to do take over you. Just take baby steps. One thing at a time. Be confident in how far you’ve come and where you can go. Work hard. Be grateful.