So, this past week I took a break from social media… well the best that I could. Because social media is a large part of my “9-5” I couldn’t escape it completely, but I needed to take a step back from my personal accounts and refocus.
Honestly, I’m not one to use the platform to vent, or express what is going on behind the scenes in my life, I just don’t use it that way, but then I started to question, why do I use it? I’m not reading people’s captions, more than half of the accounts I follow are people I don’t know – so it’s not like I’m trying to use it to stay connected… I mean I literally was finding myself just mindlessly scrolling through my feed for 10, 15, 20+ minutes at a time…
That’s not a lot of time each day, but for someone like myself who literally has each hour scheduled and still can’t find enough time in the day to workout, or eat lunch, social media started to feel more like a distraction than a tool for connecting and collaborating. So, I needed a break. A social media detox. #firstworldproblems
I guess I can’t blame my need for a break on social media, but I honestly feel like it plays a large part. The pressures that so many of us place on ourselves to “do it all”, to hustle at work and in life, to get fit and healthy, to travel, buy a house, get married, to look the part (whatever that part is) is exhausting.
High Expectations
I have really high expectations. For pretty much everything in my life. My job, my relationships, the products I use, the food I eat – you name it, I have an expectation that it must meet. I consistently hold all of these things up to a gold standard and when they don’t go as planned or don’t meet my expectations, I’ve started to kind of freak out. I’ve noticed it gets worse and worse when I feel over-worked. I don’t mean literally overworked, like in the sense of working too much… even though that is also true. #Iamaworkaholic. I mean overworked in the sense of overdoing it, burning out, working hard but not having balance in your life.
I’ve always been a Type-A person. I don’t know much about introverts and extroverts, besides their literal meaning, but is it possible to be an extrovert and an introvert? Because I feel like I’m all three. Or maybe I’m just nuts… that could be it too. Okay, random rant over… Seriously, though! Have you ever had those weeks where you hit roadblock after roadblock? I’m usually not a cryer, but boy when I hit those constant roadblocks, like I did this past week, it kind of feels like there is nothing else to do but just let it out. #JT I will cry you a river.
Why Taking A Break is Healthy
So, back to why I decide to take a break from social media: I needed time to focus. Now, I’m not saying that I sat down each day, wrote in a journal all of my hopes and dreams, and set goals to accomplish those… nope. I’m not saying that I even have this new found realization or outlook on life. Gosh, wouldn’t that be great? I’m not even saying that I started meditating or decided to pick up yoga… also two things that would be great for my life and stress, I’m sure. Nope! All I’m saying is that, I decided to not use social media and to instead live life as I normally do, but with more focus and intention.
I feel that without the distraction of social media, I was able to serve my clients better, I was able to take my dog to the park (something we both love doing), I was able to make yummy dinners and even decided to start a new health regimen (stay tuned for more on that soon!). These may all seem like small or odd things to be proud of or to even focus on, but I think what I’m learning is: I need to exhale the bullshit and inhale the good shit.
What I’m saying is that sometimes we lose track of the “mundane” things in our life that ACTUALLY provide value. And I say ACTUALLY becuase we take the things for granted. For me, these things are cooking, working out and providing value for my clients. When we have too many distractions, this could be social media, toxic people or habits, material things, etc. it triggers stress, anxiety, negativity, weight gain (seriously), bad juju and more.
This next week, I challenge you to remove something in your life that is not providing value, and fill it with something that does – and let me know how it goes. Really though, let’s hang out, have a glass of wine, and talk about it. I’d love to hear how it influenced you.
