In a society where everyone is comparing their successes and failures to what they see on social media, one can lose their sense of self-fulfillment. What was once a confident self-assured individual now becomes an anxious self-doubter. So how do we get back to that time when our main source of competition was our yesterday self. A time where we were more focused on our personal journey of progression instead of how many likes we got in comparison to another? Doubting ourselves is toxic and can lead to the corrosion of our true self. Check out these tips on overcoming social media induced self-doubt.
1. Understand that everyone's journey is unique to them - Do you know how hard that lifestyle blogger worked to get to where they are? Still comparing your physical appearance to that of a personal trainer? What's wrong with this picture? Sometimes we envy the "life" of another discounting how much work and dedication went into getting them to this point. When we get so caught up in what we see we forget to discover what the purpose of our unique journey is. Take some time out to reflect on your life journey thus far. What are you doing that makes you happy. What are some things that you wish you could improve. Focus on creating a plan for yourself and work on it each day. Admire others tenacity to reach their goals but don't compare your goals to theirs as this will add nothing to the quality of your life.
2. Take it one day at a time - Social media allows you to take in many months of content in one sitting but don't forget that this is a representation of cumulative effort over longer periods of time. Don't forget that with every day that passes you are losing precious opportunities to further your goals. Unless your goal in life is to be a professional scroller, put down your device and make a habit out of spending some quality time researching the fundamentals of your goal/goals (check out our post on how to create new habits).
3. Be honest with yourself - Sometimes self-doubt is not a result of too much exposure to social media. We may be transferring these feelings without getting to the root cause. Are we ashamed of the choices we have made in life? Are we afraid of failing so we do nothing but because we are doing nothing we become resentful of self? Are we experiencing episodes of cognitive dissonance, where we have convinced ourselves that we want one thing when in our heart it is the opposite? We fight with these feelings and lose confidence in ourselves. It is ok to let these feelings and emotions surface so that we can deal with them. As humans our whole being is fluid and dynamic. We are not meant to think and act one way but forever evolve. It is ok to not be where we thought we would. It is also ok to not want to do what we had originally set out to do. What's not ok is to sit back and pretend that we are insufficient and that there is no way we can "get it together" like the popular individuals on Instagram.
4. Discover your why - So we know our journeys are different and that we need to work at our goals daily to see any progress. But why? Why is this so important to you? You don't want to blog and you don't want to train people yet you are infatuated by these people's journey. What you are really infatuated by is their dedication to their why. Well it's time to do the same. Get a grip on your why! Why do you want to be successful? Why do you want to rise to the occasion and fulfill your goals? What's stopping you from having your why be louder and greater than any doubt filled thought? Not sure how to articulate your why? That's ok! Google how others have worded their why! Find an example and break it down into its basic message. Now search within yourself for what yours is and use the examples you find to help you put into words your own why.
5. Love yourself - If you don't love yourself, no one else's love will really matter. Be kind to yourself. Long periods of self-inflicted hatred and abuse is a sure fire way to cripple anyone's desire to grow and develop themselves. Speak to yourself with love and compassion. Be positive but realistic with what you can handle right now, knowing that as each day passes you will get stronger and closer to where you want to be. One day your social media page will be amongst those that are respected and scrolled through, its viewer soaking in years of your hard work in a matter of minutes. Don't forget to encourage them to look past you and into their own goals and ambitions.
Do you compare yourself to other's on social media? Tell us how you plan to overcome it in the comments.
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Team Make It Fun NYC