Erasing the Lines Between Inspiration and Comparison
5 weeks out after having my 4th baby has me in full blown postpartum, and I’ve got all the feels. My hormones are trying to rebalance after pregnancy, I’m breastfeeding, I’m sleep deprived, and I have 3 older kids that are wondering why they always have to be quiet and why mommy is so grumpy all the time.
In “normal” life, I try to limit how much time I spend scrolling away on social media for the sake of having more face to face time with the live people in front of me. However, in my current state I’ve relaxed my self imposed social media restrictions. I’ve let myself get sucked into way too many games of candy crush, going through every picture someone has posted on Instagram, and even shamefully picked up a nasty daytime tv watching “habit”. Why? Because I’m in recovery right now. It’s a time to rest, and heal without the pressure of returning to normalcy (Whatever normalcy is with 4 kids)!
Although I’m happy to be scrolling endlessly, there have definitely been times where I find myself feeling low after seeing pictures of people in cute clothes on their way to work, while I’m stuck in the house changing diapers and being slobbed on all day. On the flip side, there have also articles, memes, or Facebook statuses that leave me feeling inspired, hopeful, and challenge me in some way to keep pushing forward.
So how do you deal when we are constantly bombarded with filtered lives that aren’t our own?
While I certainly don’t have all the answers, I will share 3 things to help you stay in your own lane:
Filter your feelings - How do you feel after you read an article on Twitter, or see a post on Instagram? Are you feeling bad about yourself? Do you find yourself envying what the other person has? If so, is it a celebrity? You have no idea the hard work, and time it took to get them where they are. Of course we’ve all love to go to Fiji in the middle of winter, but I also know we all wouldn't be up for the 12 and 14 hour days they put into making a movie either.
Turn your hateration into motivation - Dig a little deeper into what makes you happy and feel fulfilled. Take that jewelry making class, try that new recipe, read that book you've been meaning to get from the library. Why sit around looking at other people enjoying their life when you can enjoy your own!
Take a break from social media - I didn’t know if I could ever successfully take a break from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Admittedly it wasn’t easy, and I had to end up temporarily deleting the apps from my phone to fully remove temptation. But I’ll tell you what it did for me...I discovered how much I don’t really use my phone for anything else! I woke up and said “Hi” to my husband first before scrolling. Just kidding... kind of. I also got back so much time in my day. Those minutes add up to more time than you think. When I finally got back on social media a few weeks later, I realized I hadn't missed anything. Everybody was still posting about the same old stuff.
Unplugging can give you mind a much needed rest to look up from our screens, and start or continue enjoying the life you have right in front of you. How do you deal when you start to get sucked into the social media comparison game? Leave me a comment and let me know!
