A few days ago, I received a message from a reader that completely threw me off guard. I’ve been getting tons of DMs lately and I strive to respond to each one because I want y’all to know that I love chatting with you guys and what better way to show it than actually doing it?! Most of the DMs I receive have been positive until this one. The initial message that was sent to me was honestly kind of mean– she asked “why is what you’re doing a popular lifestyle?”. Instead of getting upset, I really wanted to understand what I can do to produce better content for her that would be useful and well, I asked her just that. The response I got was pretty lengthy but it touched the bottom of my heart to the point where I had to step away from social media for a couple of days– I even went my first Monday without posting twice!!
If you missed my stories from yesterday, I briefly talked about how the anonymous reader mentioned she felt slightly envious as to how perfect everyone seems to be able to make their lives look and that made her feel disgusted about her own life. There was a lot more to it but that’s the general gist and after reading it, I just broke down. I spent a few days reflecting on that comment and really just re-evaluating the way I portray myself on the internet. I responded to her, thanking her for the feedback and decided to be vulnerable with her and share how I feel about people that I follow on social media because to be honest, I’m right there with her! Even as a blogger, I find myself drowning in other bloggers feeds (for hours upon hours) and wonder why I’m not as good as them. I get lost in counting how many likes and comments other bloggers are getting and it ends up being a never ending maze and it’s so hard to get out of it. Even I sometimes forget that everyone out there has their struggles and just because they aren’t showing them, doesn’t mean they don’t have them too.
Now I know the concept of portraying a “perfect” life is not new to social media. This is just the first time someone approached me about it and for the longest time, I thought I was doing enough by showing you all the real me at least on my IG stories. Even on my feed, I don’t have a crazy consistent theme and sometimes I just want to post something that is lower quality and taken with my iPhone. It never really hit me how powerful social media can until just a few days ago and y’all, I’m so grateful for the girl that sent me that message. I hope she knows how much I appreciate her because she really did open my eyes on how powerful social media can be. I never want to put an image out there on social media that I’m perfect because I’m not.
I’m not perfect.
Just like everyone else, I have struggles that I go through each and every single day and I have my moments of breakdown. I need to show more of me just being me rather than trying to get that perfect IG photo. Please do keep in mind that my Instagram is my business profile, it’s how I make a living and it’s why some of my photos are more professional and structured than others. I hope that doesn’t ever make you feel upset and if it does, just send me a message and let’s talk, ok? I’m all for girl talk. I’ll also put more in-the-moment, not-so-perfect, posts up on my stories just so you guys can always see the behind the scenes.
Since I struggle with going down the abyss of other people’s feeds and start comparing their lives to mine, I thought it would be helpful to share some tips that we can start doing in our every day lives to help prevent us from feeling down.
WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?
- Challenge yourself to take a break from social media once a week. To some, that may seem like nothing at all and to others it’s going to be complete game changer.
- Turn off your social media notifications. I know I encourage you all to turn on post notifications for my Instagram but if you’re ever at the point where you’re feeling down or upset about your own life and social media is affecting you mentally and emotionally, then please turn it all off. No one’s content is more important than your health, I promise you that.
- Purge who you’re following. If there is a particular person that is making you feel bad about yourself, then unfollow immediately. Don’t even think twice about it. If you’re not genuinely inspired by the content you’re seeing on your feed, then you’re following all the wrong accounts!
- Count your blessings. Take a moment and look at what’s around you and what you have. Count those blessings girlfriend because they are there to stay. If you’re reading this right now, then you can count on me to be there as your friend too!
- Go outside. Sometimes I’ll have these moments where I’m stuck on the couch just drowning in other people’s feeds and I don’t move for hours. Granted, I’m trying to do some work too but I start to feel uninspired, sad about my own life and basically feel like I’m not good enough. Ajeet can tell when I have those moments and when that happens, we actually go outside to talk. Breathing that fresh air and getting in that vitamin D can really change your whole perspective on life.
- Talk to someone. Whether you’re praying, talking to your parents, sibling, best friend, boyfriend, wife, or even just me, letting it out could be the most beneficial thing you do. I’ll never judge anyone for ever feeling a certain way because 10 times out of 10, I’ve been there too!
As for me y’all, I’m going to do everything possible to show a healthy lifestyle– the good and the bad. I’ve always been an introvert growing up and still am so sometimes it’s harder for me to open up and be vulnerable on the internet but that’s just something I’m going to have to suck it up and do it because I never want any of my readers to ever feel that their life is ‘crap’ or they’re not good enough. Thank you guys for stopping by my page and reading this post. I can’t thank you enough for your support.
As always, chat soon!
SHOP THE LOOK
SHOP THE LOOK
