In August of last year, I attempted to make a promise to myself. There were pieces of me that I really wanted to change, and one of those at the top of the list was my attitude toward certain things. And those things were mostly things that were out of my control anyway. With social media everywhere and seemingly unavoidable, it often feels like there is so much "stuff" in your face all of the time. One of the things I truly despise about social media is how it only features one side of a story, or really, one side of a person. Sometimes if I am not in the right frame of mind and I go to one of these places, it almost feels like this place where everyone is perfect, having the perfect life, and with no negativity or downside. It's the perfect world, and it's virtual. It can be....painful. I was often asking myself if anyone I knew ever had a bad day. Well, of course they did, but no one ever seems to advertise it (only once in a blue moon).
I think I may have hit social media rock bottom right around July. One day I went on to Facebook, took a scroll through the newsfeed and broke down over the some silly post that someone wrote about how fantastic they were (or made them sound). "What the fuck?" I remember saying that out loud. "Don't you ever have a bad day?" Then, five minutes later I felt guilty for saying that. Let's just say that pretty much all of 2013 was an emotional year for me regardless of what I was seeing on social media. Maybe I should have just stayed away.
The next month is when I made a promise. I promised myself not to go look at that newsfeed so much (I have abided by this somewhat). I also promised myself that if everything that I saw was positive, and no matter who wrote it, I would think positive (true about 95% of the time). Instead of making a grumpy face or cursing it up, I now just say or think a pleasant, "Isn't that great for them? Way to go!" You know what? It's working. I feel more positive just for something so little like that, and I feel like it is even bringing positive things my way.
More change is coming, too...On Saturday, I will be starting a 5-day cleanse. I'll definitely be reporting on how that goes.
Yeah social media is so interesting. It's funny cause what makes me crazy is the opposite, it drives me crazy when people are complaining all the time. Or they only ever seem to have bad days.
ReplyDeleteIts good to be cautious of what you put out there.
Jenn
Yes, that is so true, too! It can be extreme, and frustrating - I think I've ended up blocking the complainers from my feed, so I don't see as much of that anymore. Always good to be cautious, but it's affecting me less personally of the things I see.
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