Why Social Media Will Kill Your Spirit…if you let it!
August 11, 2017
As I type this you are probably on your phone scrolling through your “competitions” Instagram, yah you, I am talking to you. You have looked at your work side-by-side with theirs and slammed the laptop shut in frustration! Then you walk to the fridge to get a snack, probably chocolate. As you sat there staring into space eating your chocolate, frustration starts to creep in. The comparison game got you! In your mind you’ve told yourself something along these lines, “My work will never look as awesome as hers/his(theirs)… I will never get that many followers, never be that creative; who wants to listen to me anyways?” Sound about right?? Or maybe you do feel your work is up to snuff, but the picture-perfect family you see floating across your Facebook has you thinking, “no one will ever accept you and your dysfunctional family. Your dog doesn’t have the perfect-perky ears and your kid is covered in chocolate fudge instead of fairy dust” Social media, and the perfectionism that goes on can kill your creative spirit. Comparing your work, your life, yourself to a figure on a screen has become the standard and you have fallen into the trap, well here is a little word of encouragement from me to you.
Being an African American, full-figured, with natural-kinky hair, remarried, sometimes crazy dog lady, photographer doesn’t sound very awesome. I have always been a bit of an over sharer and I did feel like the things I listed would hinder me in my wedding photography business, I was even told by someone that it would, but I just kept right on being myself. I stopped looking at the “competition” as my competition and more as my “inspiration” my “motivation.” You see friend, this is why I tell you, you don’t have to let social media kill your spirit, but rather know that this is not a race but more of a marathon. You have to run your race or you will never cross that finish line. If your work doesn’t line up with where you would like to be, then keep chipping away. Don’t let the perfectionist facade fool you; there are cracks in every foundation, but is the house still standing? That is what really matters. Your kids are not perfect, but they are your babies, and you are their mama, their dada and your the one who watches them sleep. Social media was really created as a way to connect, but we have turned it into a way to compete, and I encourage you to return to the roots of what social media was for, connection! I can tell you from personal experience, I sleep a lot better at night when I spent my day connecting and engaging vs. lurking and comparing!
