The Flawesome Blogger Award: Turning flaws into strengths

It’s always great to be chosen for an award by a fellow blogger! And this one is particularly interesting: it makes you think about your flaws, and how you’ve turned them into strengths.

I started blogging in March 2017, with this post on how we planned our Lakshadweep holiday. A year later, I decided to do it full-time (to the horror of almost everyone I told). It’s been quite a ride since then, with some things working out and others not.

But before I was chosen for the Flawesome Blogger Award, I didn’t really think about what aspects of my personality played a part in this entire thing. For that, I have Oli from Travel Bugs World to thank. She and her partner Geoffo have been travelling the world full-time for over five years, and if you like honest personal perspectives on slow travel, you need to give their blog a visit. Thanks for the nomination, Oli!

Just to be clear, the Flawesome Blogger award is a peer-recognition award, through which bloggers support and motivate each other, and build a vibrant community. Each award is like a rite of passage, and validates the hard work a blogger has put into their blog.

My flaws, and how I’ve turned them into blogging strengths

To be honest, I never thought of flaws as strengths in any context, let alone my own flaws in the context of travel blogging. But this nomination definitely made me think about it. And while it’s not easy to acknowledge and talk about my flaws, I think these three might actually have helped me be a better traveller and blogger.

Flaw #1: Being lazy

There are some people who have lots of energy, who’re always up and about getting things done, and who’re always squeezing every last drop out of every moment. And then there’s me, always trying to get maximum result from minimum effort. That applies to my travelling, too. Given the chance, I’d stay in one place and soak everything up instead of spending energy running around. And if you’ve read a few of my other posts, you’ll see that my afternoon nap is sacred, no matter where I am.

Also read: Photo diary: Snow-capped mountains and Tibetan art in Dharamshala

But as a travel blogger, my being lazy has its advantages. For one, it makes me prioritize and not try to cram too much into my day. That means I spend my energy only on things that I think are important. It also lets me spend time exploring the place I’m in at the moment, so that I have rich in-depth experiences instead of superficial memories. And that’s important for me, because it helps me fill my blog posts with details, the way I like to do.

Flaw #2: Being stubborn

Stubbornness is another trait of mine that I’ll have to acknowledge. When I’ve decided on something, it’s not easy to change my mind. And pushing me in the other direction just makes me dig my heels in further. That sometimes makes me a little (read very) inflexible when it comes to spur-of-the-moment changes in my travel schedule, and takes some effort to overcome.

Also read: Jaipur: Our motorcycle tour kicks off

On the other hand, I’d like to think that my stubbornness also manifests itself in my being determined and resolute, which is a useful counter-weight to my inherent laziness. Not only has it pushed me to have some incredible experiences while travelling, despite the difficulties involved, it’s also made me meet difficult deadlines while blogging, and helped me stay the course when things have gotten tough.

Flaw #3: Being pedantic

Being pedantic—showing off ones obsession with sometimes unnecessary detail—is something that I dislike in other people, so having to acknowledge that in myself is particularly hard. No one likes a know-it-all, least of all me.

But in a way, my pedantism (pedantry?) has been quite useful to my blogging. It’s helped me try and find as many details out as I could about the places I’ve been and the things I’ve done. Not just that, it’s also let me remember a lot of the details without having to take notes. That’s saved a me a lot of time and effort, which I’ve spent on napping instead. Lastly, it’s made me fill my blog posts with lots of information. How useful that information is, you’ll have to be the judge of, but since search engines seem to like long posts, it helps.

Also read: Our Kenya safari: Up close with Africa′s incredible wildlife

There you have it. Those are my flaws (some of them), and how I’ve turned them into strengths as a travel blogger. Awards like these are very special, and go a long way in keeping me motivated to pump out new stuff for you, dear reader. So here are the bloggers I’d like to pass the magic on to.

My choices for the Flawesome Blogger Award

Here are some hard-working and dedicated bloggers who go where no one (OK, maybe not no one, but definitely not everyone) has gone before, and who keep the rest of us motivated with their awesome content and incredible support. I think they’re worthy recipients of the Flawesome Blogger Award.

1. Stromfield Adventures
2. These Foreign Roads
3. Monster Voyage
4. Thrilling Travel
5. Veggie Vagabonds
6. Travel, Books and Food
7. The Wandering Quinn
8. Trail Stained
9. Blogging from Paradise
10. Social Maharaj

Rules for the Flawesome Blogger Award

As with all peer-nominated awards, this one has a few rules. If you’ve been chosen for this award, then you need to:

1. Link back to the award creator: https://sophiaismaa.wordpress.com/.
2. Display your award on your blog and social media handle/s.
3. Write about three of your flaws and how you’ve turned them into strengths.
4. Nominate ten other bloggers for the award.