Today I’d like to make a case for resting & recconecting. It’s been on my mind lately, and I wanted to take a minute to share my thoughts with you.
Let’s jump into rest first.
Rest
Rest is so important to our overall health and well being. We all know this. We all see the side effects of not getting enough sleep or not fueling our bodies properly. And still…we don’t! We don’t always do the things we know that our bodies need. We don’t give ourselves rest and care.
Here’s what happens when we fail ourselves in taking rest:
We are more stressed and less efficient. We are more anxious and less equipped to handle challenges.
So why don’t we do the things we know that need to do?
I think there are a few reasons. I think that we make ourselves overly busy, thereby not allowing ourselves enough time to manage everything that needs to be fit into a day. I think that we feel pressure to get it all done today. And, in regards to social media in particular, we don’t feel like we can rest. Ever.
If we take a rest from social media, don’t get our post up on time, or don’t write that post that we wanted to write, it feels like the earth might actually stop spinning!
Spoiler alert: it wont.
I am not trying to trivialize anyone’s social media hustle. There are amazing entrepreneurs who have very skillfully crafted marketing strategies that they utilize over social media. And that is fantastic! However, when we can’t walk away from the gram or we fall to pieces when a post didn’t get as many likes as we wanted it to, I think it is time to reevaluate our priorities.
And that is where my second word comes in …
Reconnect
When I share something on social media, I always have to ask myself this question first …
What is my intention in sharing this post? Why am I posting this?
If I am posting a photo for likes or comments or validation or because I’m having a bad day, then I need to take a step back and ask myself why I feel the need to share in that way.
Is it a photo of my relationship that I just want other people to validate? I remind myself that no one needs to validate any of my relationships.
Is it a vacation or new car that I feel like showing off a little bit? I remind myself that I don’t have anything to prove to anyone on social media.
I think it is great to post about those things! There is nothing wrong with a cute date night or vacation picture. Those are just a couple of examples of ways that I can lost sight of why I am trying to connect on social media. When I want to post something, I evaluate my intentions. If my intention is just that I feel cute and want to share a photo … there’s nothing wrong with that at all! For me, the problem is when I forget my intentions.
Asking myself the simple question of why helps me reconnect with what I’m sharing online.
Additionally, taking some space offline to reconnect with yourself or with friends and family in person is so crucial. Instagram likes can never replace the person sitting at the dinner table with you. Online communities can be wonderful, powerful places, but it is important to surround ourselves with people that matter in the real world as well.
This is me letting you (& myself) know that is okay to take time away from social media! Reset your perspective. Turn those notifications off. Delete that app for a week or so. Observe how feelings and behaviors change during that time. You’ll be so glad you did.
Rest & Reconnect with you and with the people you love.