If we all stopped worrying about what others thought so much and stopped creating this “public persona” for our “friends” on social media, we might just learn to enjoy life a little more. Ideas started flowing for me today after I came across this photo/quote on none-other-than my Facebook feed:
“So many young women treat life as a constant status update. It’s as if they’re more concerned with how their lives look than how their lives feel.”
A friend of mine posted it after reading it out of a Cosmo article. The quote is by Jane Buckingham, who is the founder and president of consumer insights firm Trendera and an expert on marketing to people of different generations. Her work is based on personal observations and survey data. A lot of my work is based on personal observations as well and personally I feel Jane is on to something here, and this picture is about to get a lot larger so take out your notepad.
We all have that friend (or friends) who post daily on social media – be it Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc, etc, etc. We all have that friend that you can read right through. That friend that might photograph everything from him/her sitting in the car (alone) to taking a photo of her Starbucks cup (which he/she might have been drinking alone or with grandma, who knows). – But I bet he/she could make you believe that she was having a coffee with the Queen of England – which quite frankly would probably be the ONLY reason I photograph a coffee cup…because there’s royalty behind it.
PHOTO CREDIT: AMYTHELIFECOACH.COM / Amy L. Fiedler
Point is that social media is an illusion.
We can make people think anything we want them to think just by posting a certain way or taking specific photographs. Things are not always what they seem though. They never are especially when you’re dealing with social media platforms. That’s the best part about it. You can be that person who’s Instagram page is like Selfie Nation or you can be that person who only posts when something political happens. You can bitch and complain about life, work and your ex-lover on all your Facebook statues – but in the end the truth is that all you’re looking for is a little reassurance.
Why do you need so much reassurance? …and why do you look for it from people who you might not have even seen or spoken to in years?
Look within. Self-assurance is the only assurance you should look for. Self-esteem, self-motivation, self-assurance are what the world should be focusing on – not how many Likes can I get with this image or this status update?
‘Likes’ are not going to give you the confidence in real-life to talk to the hot guy at the grocery store. How many Facebook “friends” you have doesn’t matter when you go to a interview for your dream job. Are you picking up what I’m putting down here?
Step away from the computer (unless you’re reading this of course, then step away once you finish). Go outside and live. Stop spending so much time trying to convince people you’re so happy and you’re having so much fun and just go have it. Have you ever noticed that the ones that are truly happy and really satisfied with life aren’t the ones announcing it on a loud speaker?
If you have to make everyone BELIEVE you’re in a happy, healthy relationship and you’re so concerned about getting a Relationship Status up or a new album of photos from your family vacation and telling us all how much fun you had and how we all should be jealous, then you’re trying a little too hard to convince us all of something that probably isn’t true.
The world needs to slow down because life goes too fast. We need to take a deep breath and really live in the moment. Enjoy the here and now. Stop and LITERALLY smell the roses because life doesn’t seem so hard and so impossible when u appreciate the little things. It can be a bit intimidating and overwhelming to feel like you need to share with the world what you’re up to. Now-a-days everyone is their own celebrity in their own mind. No one cares that much about what you did from the time you wake up til the time you go to bed except for you, yourself and…you. Those 3 minutes you spent typing up something that you thought was creative or sarcastic or witty were wasted – you could have gotten something more worthwhile accomplished.
So today do yourself a favor as the year slowly comes to a close. Remember to slow down. Remember to breathe. Remember to really enjoy what is going on every second of every day. You hear it at every funeral – life is too short – before you realize it the important ones in your life can be gone…for good. Why not really CHERISH them instead of convincing everyone else that you really cherish them…you get me?
I was finishing my Christmas shopping yesterday when a lady walked up to me in Bed, Bath & Beyond. I think I was somewhere in the Beyond section, all by myself and I was examining some storage containers. Personally I was just staring at the colors of the bins and weighing my options as to which one I liked better when this lady comes up to me and says “Do you work here?” Now….I wasn’t dressed as if I worked there and I had a giant shopping cart next to me with my items so I’m not sure where her rationale was behind that question but I just slowly glanced up at her and said “no.”
So she looks at me, oddly and goes to walk away and then comes back and looks at me again. I was still just standing there, un-frazzled, staring at these bins. She stares at me for a few seconds and proceeds to say “you just look really calm…” I slowly glanced up at her again and then she continues, “not like a normal shopper…frazzled and in a hurry.” I didn’t say anything I just looked at her again with a ‘I know this..what is your point..’ kind of look. She then stood there, staring at me for a few more seconds and then dashed away.
People don’t get it…what exactly are you rushing for? Are you in a hurry to die? Why rush life? Why rush a single day? I mean…chill out. Life is meant to be enjoyed, cherished and respected. Stop treating life like a status update and just go out and live – appreciate, love, enjoy, take your time, smile, laugh, breathe…just live.
