Thrive Series: Social Media

Blog Cameo : My nephew pup “Cato”

 

 

My word for the year is:

It is hard for me to pick one word for a new decade, so in hopes to focus on one main thing – I wanted to unpack one word to mean a whole lot of things. My expectation for this year is to make my word work for me and not for me to work for my word. It is simple.

I want to THRIVE this year in life. I want to feel like I am excelling and thriving spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

In order to do that I am going to do a series and break down each piece and what I am focusing on.

I am so excited to share my first series:

I  h o p e   y o u   e n j o y   a n d   f o l l o w   a l o n g .

S e r i e s 1 : Thrive Mentally

 

The first thing I wanted to delve into was social media. It popped up in the book I just read “When Less is More” by Emily Ley. It focused on making space for slow, simple and all things good. This is what I am craving and what I feel is essential to thriving in life!

 

As a blogger – being on your phone & computer takes up a lot of time and being present is something that gets me good. I try to blog, write, social media scroll when my girls nap, but let’s be serious- I can also be caught reading other blogs, articles and social media posts and get engrossed in the entrapment that is the social media black hole. One post leads me to another and then I am glued and I don’t even realize how NOT present I am. I am in a deep rabbit hole that makes me extremely unproductive, anxious and unfocused.

It isn’t that we need to do away with social media – it is not going anywhere guys, so how can we be in control of it and use it in a positive way?

In addition to cooking, cleaning, wiping boogers, asses, and playing chauffeur, moms are adding “tweeting”, “liking” and blogging to their daily repertoire. Why? Because in many ways they feel more connected to moms like them and can learn from a community of moms at the tip of their fingers (Example: Why isn’t my kid napping??? Help!)

80% of young moms use social media regularly and 50% of all moms who are active social media mavens access it from their mobile devices. That’s a lot of multitasking moms pinning, tweeting, and sharing amidst the chaos that is child-rearing.

Is this negative? I don’t know – I think I felt like it was for me personally until I started to get messages from new moms or even a phone call from some suffering PPD. I knew that social media could be used for the good and to reach out to a community to benefit people. It is up to US on how we utilize the tool and not let it use US.

 

Here are some intentional practices I use that can help you THRIVE in social media use.

 

• Follow people who inspire or motivate you only.

 

• Use the tool more intentionally.

 

• Engage with experts you can learn from.

 

• Create genuine positive friendships from social media.

 

• Develop healthy habits for social media – just like anything else.

 

• Block time to step away.

 

• Be clear about what your purpose is when logging on and STICK TO IT.

 

• Stop mindless scrolling, complaining, hating, engaging in negativity and bitterness. No more rabbit trails that lead me into crazy troll dialogues. It’s killing my productivity.

 

• Use peoples post as inspiration – NOT COMPARISON. Use others posts to built inspiration towards a goal rather than direct comparison. It is the healthiest way to approach social media.
  

 

• Social media posts can be a HIGHLIGHT reel – they are not a representation of someone’s whole entire life. The person in them is most likely struggling with the same things you are – BE KIND

 

• Be selective who you follow.

 

• THINK before posting. What are you sending out to the world? Before you hit send- are you spreading positivity? Is it making your feed an encouraging place?

 

• Foster a community of support and positivity among friends/followers.

 

• Mental Health FIRST – check in on yourself guys! If checking posts make you anxious and stressed, you need a BREAK! Disable push notifications, step away to a new task, read a book, step outside…etc. YOU are in control.

 

Social media CAN enhance your life, but if it is used in an unhealthy way, it can intensify symptoms of depression, self-doubt and anxiety. My message to you is to not make social media an idol. Use it in a positive and healthy way and use it to help you intentionally THRIVE!