I love social media, I do. I love that at any time in the day or at any time in the night, there is something new to read, something new to watch and always someone to talk with. There's always a hashtag to catch up on, or someone's video to watch, like, comment on and share. There's always a blog post to inspire you, to resonate with you and to make you shed a tear. There's always a picture to like and to leave a comment on. There are always pictures to inspire you and to make you smile and always pictures from friends who you maybe haven't seen in a while.
At any time of day or night, social media is always alive, it's always buzzing, it's never closed and these days we have such instant access to it which means we never really feel totally alone. There's always someone around and even if it's people that we've never physically met, it can still be such a comforting feeling.
But over the years I've become aware that as comforting as it can be, social media can be just as un-comforting too. A social media that never switches off can if you let it, be overwhelming at times and it can also be so incredibly easy to let inspiration turn into comparison and then allow comparison to turn into self-doubt.
And it's a funny thing because all we really ever see is what other people want us to see, nothing more and nothing less. If we watch what might be considered as a lengthy video on youtube from someone we know that we are still only seeing a very tiny controlled percentage of the entire 24 hours in their day. And when we see peoples lovely tidy homes with the most perfect decor on Instagram or Pinterest, we know that we are only seeing one corner of somebody else's home - a home they've probably spent many years saving for. And when we see people in their best clothes, with the happiest smiles and in the perfect place, we also know that we are usually just looking at what is just a tiny split second in a day.
But still, it can be so easy to compare - I know this because I've done it myself. Our minds can sometimes be a bit silly and focus on what we don't have and not what we do and it is silly because what we do have is way more important than what we don't. And as for a social media that never switches off, it's comforting to have that online place that is always there but it is sometimes overwhelming too - it's fast-paced and it can be hard to keep up, especially so when real life is busy enough. So I think it's good to remember that whilst social media may never switch off... we can.
The more I blog and vlog as a job, the more I learn that the only comparison I should ever be doing is comparing myself to myself. I like to question whether I feel I have moved forward and whether I feel like I have achieved (and that doesn't have to be in line with other people because we're all unique and our journey's all different). If I feel like I'm giving and doing my best in the different areas of my life, well then that's really all that really matters and I've come to realise that all other sorts of comparison really do achieve nothing other than insecurity and self-doubt.
So be happy for the people around you, go ahead and find inspiration, admire people and show interest in their lives, but remember that you are always way cooler than your feed and that comparison really is the thief of joy!
Thank you for reading.
Alex xo
At any time of day or night, social media is always alive, it's always buzzing, it's never closed and these days we have such instant access to it which means we never really feel totally alone. There's always someone around and even if it's people that we've never physically met, it can still be such a comforting feeling.
But over the years I've become aware that as comforting as it can be, social media can be just as un-comforting too. A social media that never switches off can if you let it, be overwhelming at times and it can also be so incredibly easy to let inspiration turn into comparison and then allow comparison to turn into self-doubt.
And it's a funny thing because all we really ever see is what other people want us to see, nothing more and nothing less. If we watch what might be considered as a lengthy video on youtube from someone we know that we are still only seeing a very tiny controlled percentage of the entire 24 hours in their day. And when we see peoples lovely tidy homes with the most perfect decor on Instagram or Pinterest, we know that we are only seeing one corner of somebody else's home - a home they've probably spent many years saving for. And when we see people in their best clothes, with the happiest smiles and in the perfect place, we also know that we are usually just looking at what is just a tiny split second in a day.
But still, it can be so easy to compare - I know this because I've done it myself. Our minds can sometimes be a bit silly and focus on what we don't have and not what we do and it is silly because what we do have is way more important than what we don't. And as for a social media that never switches off, it's comforting to have that online place that is always there but it is sometimes overwhelming too - it's fast-paced and it can be hard to keep up, especially so when real life is busy enough. So I think it's good to remember that whilst social media may never switch off... we can.
The more I blog and vlog as a job, the more I learn that the only comparison I should ever be doing is comparing myself to myself. I like to question whether I feel I have moved forward and whether I feel like I have achieved (and that doesn't have to be in line with other people because we're all unique and our journey's all different). If I feel like I'm giving and doing my best in the different areas of my life, well then that's really all that really matters and I've come to realise that all other sorts of comparison really do achieve nothing other than insecurity and self-doubt.
So be happy for the people around you, go ahead and find inspiration, admire people and show interest in their lives, but remember that you are always way cooler than your feed and that comparison really is the thief of joy!
Alex xo
Couldn't agree more
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