I never thought I would come up with a headline like that, but here we are. Disappointment is a integral part of Steemit, and I take full responsibility for this statement.
How Come?
Well, Steemit is very, very, very different from any other social media / writing platform. It may look like a vintage clone of reddit, but it isn't. It may look like a wannabee Medium clone, but it's far from that. It may share some similarities with Facebook or Twitter but it's way, way, way different than those.
Truth is, Steemit is revolutionary. And revolution is often uncomfortable. It shakes things around, replaces them with better versions, but in this process it also breaks a lot of stuff. Steemit is like a revolutionary pill, which can make you way healthier - financially, for starters, but also mentally and socially - but, unfortunately, it comes with a few side effects. And one of the most common is disappointment.
Help, I'm Having The Steemit Blues!
Here are a few symptoms of having the "Steemit blues"
- lack of motivation: "why interacting if I don't get any upvotes"
- jealousy: "look at this shitty post, and how it made $20/$40/$whatever_huge_amount, and I make nothing"
- bitterness: "it's all about the whales, they are controlling the game and I'm just a minnow"
I'm sure you felt at least once one of these emotions or been in one of these states. It's ok. Don't blame yourself. It's part of the process.
Overcoming Steemit Blues
Here's what I found to work with my own version of "Steemit blues". It may or may not work for you, but at least I tried:
1. Focus on your own gains not on others
Stop looking at other wallets, stop whale hunting, stop all of this. Check only your own wallet and be happy for it.
2. Be consistent, for the sake of consistency
Joining some writing group - or a 30 days writing challenge - may help a lot. Don't look for gratification, just stay there. Interact, post and be there. For the sake of consistency, not for the sake of rewards. It's consistency that generates rewards, not the other way around.
3. Enlarge your time window
When I started blogging, the shortest time interval after which I could at least hope to make some money (the old school way: by being indexed by Google and hoping to milk some AdSense from that tiny traffic) was 6 months. So, if you just wrote for 2 weeks on Steemit and you're not seeing any rewards, it means it's ok. There's still time. When I started, in October 2016, I wrote for days without earning a penny. Nothing. Nada.
4. Balance gratification with ownership
That's a very complicated way to say that you should consistently power up. Many people have financial constraints and they need the money they make on Steemit to survive, and I totally understand that. But make an effort and power up at least 10% of what you're making. It's like the first advice when you get in any financial education program: "start saving, even if you're in debt, just start saving". When you pair this approach - powering up constantly - with the consistence described at point 2 above, you will get something very rewarding. It may happen way sooner than those 6 months you were expecting in "traditional" blogging.
5. Stay away from flag-wars, they are not your battles
Flag wars are unavoidable. They are in human nature and there's no code that can fix human nature (so far). Those who are engaging in flag wars may have their own reasons and it's not up to you to judge that, if you're not part of one. Just ignore. Stay away. Pick your battles carefully.
There are many other things to be said, like "be positive", "smile and write, man, smile and write", but I think those 5 are enough. For starters.
Steem on!
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me 
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