How I stay positive while Blogging
Stay positive, one step at a time.
I refrain from talking about this in my blog posts, but today I felt it’s the right time to speak up.
I like getting feedback – positive, negative, constructive, trolls or even something purely out of cynicism – yes, every kind. I feel, it helps me grow and understand my craft, likes and dislikes better. Also, it ensures me that people are reading my writings and are therefore reacting to them in their own ways. It makes me feel that I’m making some impact with my work, however minuscule it might be. So, any reaction by a reader, visitor or a follower is great.
I started writing my food blog out of sheer love for food. I have no other way to put it.
However, some people tend to forget that it’s a ‘personal’ blog. And being a ‘food blog, adds to my misery. As these days, while one might not claim understanding any other craft or creative activity, he/she might vehemently think of oneself as a food critic.
And food being such a subjective issue, often leads to polar perspectives, which even causes people to spar over each other’s choices.
Even though we work together, many a times, Gurjas does not like a dish, which I do and vice versa. However, that doesn’t and actually, shouldn’t lead to a fight. Because, I feel, one must respect diverse kinds of cuisines, flavours and taste preferences.
I have been through depression and have had my share of negativity. So, I tend to be happy and thankful each day.
Of course, there are days, when I don’t enjoy a meal at a restaurant or feel riled up, due to bad service. But, I try, not to feel so negative that I ridicule them on every possible platform.
I do take food seriously and have my preferences and dishes that I love ardently, but I do not wish to lose my sleep over one bad meal.
Also, having worked in a commercial kitchen, I have seen the other side of the story. I fully comprehend that restaurants invest a lot of money and hard work into building their establishment. So, while most are trying to survive, there are those, which just want to mint money. But, more importantly, there are some chefs and eateries, which genuinely love serving great food and even try to reinvent the wheel. So, for their sake, I feel that while we can indulge in constructive criticism, we still have no right to spread negativity for any vested interests.
It saddens me when I see people who can’t differentiate a Nalli from a Nihari, running food groups on social media. Instead of sharing and learning about food, they tend to ridicule food bloggers for not having enough knowledge. I have seen many people ridiculing restaurants over food, prices, service, ambience and sometimes simply because they think they can. Restaurants are serving free food to so many people just because they feel threatened. Threatened by this easy targeting.
I do not wish to be part of all this.
Amidst all this noise, I often tell myself that I can’t feel negative or rather I don’t want to. My blog is my happy space, which I have built from scratch with all my love and enthusiasm. It’s my sacred place where I share heartfelt personal stories from my daily life. My only wish and principle is to stay honest. Honest to content, readers and brands I associate with and most importantly, myself.
Some people do tell me that I like everything and I need to dislike a few things. Yes, may be, I do like most things or perhaps, I am too easy to please.
Or maybe, in this increasingly cynical world, I am trying very hard to see the positives. Believe me, I have been a pessimist all my life. It hasn’t helped me much, so I am trying to change it. Trying to be happy, positive and optimistic.
All I wish to do is to write about food, about memories attached with food and the people who make good food. Be it a chef in a commercial kitchen or a home cook making food for their children. I want to travel and eat food from various regions. I want to improve my Pastry skills. I want to read and learn more about the history of food, various cuisines and cooking techniques.
And most importantly, I want a happy feeling to be associated with food. As it was the only thing by my side, when nothing else was.
