I have thought about writing this post for some time. I kept pushing the idea to the side, but I decided that today I needed to share something I felt was important with each of you. When I was younger, my mom always taught me to be careful with what I watched on television. She, of course, was speaking from a biblical standpoint because in the bible, it often talks about guarding your eyes and your heart. What you watch can effect your inner spirit. We live in a day where it's not just television that we are watching all day. We are watching social media too. From videos on YouTube to scrolling Instagram, many of us are connected all day long, me included. We are exposed to so much daily and it wasn't until last year that I realized the importance of guarding what we take in.
If you follow me on Instagram, at the beginning of the new year, I mentioned on Instagram Stories that I took a break from posting during the holidays. At the time, I found myself comparing my life to other social media influencers. It's almost impossible to not compare yourself when you're watching your peers constantly traveling, taking amazing photos and supposedly living their best lives. I had to take a moment to step away, focus on myself, my purpose and the gifts God has given me. That's one of the reasons you have to be careful who you follow online.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
We have heard this quote so many times in life, but do you realize how true it is? When we compare ourselves to others, we are taking away from our gifts, our purpose and the incredible person God has created us to be. We all have unique gifts and if we are so busy comparing our lives to someone else's, you can't take the time to truly appreciate your own. I had to step away and realize that even if I'm not posting incredible photos everyday, I'm still an amazing writer with a God-given purpose.
Recently, I was on Facebook when I saw an interesting conversation. A blogger was saying how she missed the old days of Instagram where people didn't have perfectly curated photos and profiles. She missed the realness on social media. While I'll admit, I often admire gorgeous photos online, I realize that that's not real, everyday life. We can pretend it is, but it's not. We don't wake up in perfectly white sheets with immaculate skin and coffee right beside us. We normally wake up looking crazy and not wanting to get out of bed. Social media can have you thinking that you should be entrepreneur that travels the world all year and has brunch every weekend. While I truly wish that was my life, it's not and that's OK. Sometimes we focus so much on what others have and what they are doing that we can't see how blessed we really are.
Let's appreciate where we are even while growing.
A lot of times when we compare ourselves to others we may see online it's because we are either not where we think we should be in life or we have fed into the illusion that we are seeing online. Listen... I believe we should want the best and most out of life. That's what God wants for us. However, you have to appreciate where you are first. God can't bless you with more if you are not content with what you have right now. Focus on you and your own growth. In order for me to stay focused, I have made a conscious choice to limit how many people I follow online. It helps maintain peace in my life and appreciation for what God has blessed me with.
What do you think? Are you careful with who you follow online?
God bless & stay fab,
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