When I find myself talking with people about confidence, I often ask about their social media use. Yes, it’s great to connect with people and receive uplifting messages like these ;) but it can also do more harm than good.
Take this picture for example, I totally look like I’m rocking this whole mom thing. Autism schmautism, I’ve got this thing down! Look how happy we are, look how present he is, we are doing so great! What you don’t see in this picture is that two hours before this moment I was looking out a window crying about how much I’m struggling with this child. When you look at this picture you don’t see the 30 minutes leading up to this moment where I just wanted to get in the car and go home, because being in this place was so challenging for us. I didn’t take pictures of any of that. None of that was post-worthy. Eventually, my son and I got on the same page and started having fun. That’s when the camera came out, and I snapped this pic. The truth is, social media isn’t the truth. We are only seeing a small fraction of people’s lives, and it’s typically only the glorious moments. As you live your real life full of non-glorious moments and scroll through all the glorious moments of other people’s lives, you start to question and doubt yourself. I just wanted to remind you that the bookends for the moments you’re seeing, are the same real life struggles that you’re facing. I’m not suggesting we ditch our phones and live off the grid – though my husband would be ECSTATIC if I would agree to that. But I will admit that I find so much healing when I back away for a bit. When I balance being exposed to fake-life stuff with real-life stuff, I realize how good my real life actually is. Go for a walk in nature and notice the new leaves on the trees, or the colors of the birds. Pick up the phone and call a friend. The more time we spend in our real lives, the more we notice how much beauty, abundance, and love we already have in our lives. In turn, we feel supported, nurtured, and confident. So, if you didn’t set a New Years Resolution, here ya go – for every hour you spend scrolling through social media, spend an hour indulging in your real life too. Be present with all the gloriousness that is you and your beautiful life. You might even be inspired to share some of it. ;) Have a wonderful day,
With love and gratitude, Robin
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