It's easy to look at social media and make the assumption that everyone else is literally 'living their best life' and that you are somehow lacking because in comparison, your life doesn't look so shiny and perfect.
However, this is simply not the case. Social media is a filter; we generally only share the things we are proud of, or that we know will paint us in a certain kind of light.
With my job, there comes an expectation that I am superfit, am always doing deep and meaningful things like meditating, eating healthily, smashing out complex yoga poses in awesome locations etc. etc. The reality is that yes, I do do most of these things, but it is very much within reason! I do eat healthily but I like a doughnut or chocolate; I go to the gym, run or do yoga 6 days a week if I can because it keeps me balanced; I meditate most days but sometimes I forget; and I do sometimes do a random yoga pose but it's very rarely somewhere cool!
Most importantly though, I do have days when all this just doesn't happen. I can get sad and I struggle with things just like anyone else. There are lots of things in my life that are a million miles away from being perfect. The difference between how I view those aspects now and how I used to view them, is that I now try and look for the positives in every situation, even the really crappy ones. And yes, sometimes that is nigh on impossible but the other key thing to remember is that every morning is the start of a new day: an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and to start afresh.
If you've eaten really badly one day, start being more mindful of the fuel you put into your body the next morning. If you've not exercised for weeks on end, make tomorrow morning the day you decide to get up and go for a walk or a jog or play football or whatever makes you move in a way that makes you happy.
Over the past couple of days I gave been feeling overwhelmed with everything going on - I'm really busy with the business, which is excellent, but also very tiring, and I do have to juggle things around so that I get enough time out to look after my own wellbeing. I've got behind with my coursework too, which has really bugged me and although I've tried valiantly to catch up, I haven't managed it, and I've had to silence that nagging little voice in my head that tells me this is a bad thing (because it isn't!).
So, to counteract all this, I've decided to reevaluate how I do things. I've decided to have a social media break today because I want to focus on dong what makes me happy rather than what looks good online. I spend a lot of time online as it's one of the ways most clients contact me or interact with me and I usually post two or three things everyday on my personal and business accounts. Whilst I'm still keeping a check on any business related enquiries, I'm ignoring any 'xxx has tagged you in a post' notifications for today as they'll still be there tomorrow! I've also planned to work slightly different hours this week so that I can still see as many clients as possible but in a way that makes my days feel less fraught. Perhaps most importantly, I've been honest and told people that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. What's great is that even by just saying it, I already feel a bit less pressured! People understand and to be honest, they aren't placing the expectations on me that I'm placing on myself.
Even writing this post has helped. Despite being a bit of a stream of consciousness, I'm resisting the urge to rewrite it and make it 'perfect', instead accepting that, just like me, it is what it is.
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