DUUUUUUUUDE!!!!! I made the conscious choice to leave Instagram for 30 days in July and lemme tell you….IT WAS FUCKING MAGICAL!!!! It may not sound like a huge deal to a lot of people, but it was a HUGE deal for me. I was attached to fucking Instagram, constantly checking it, constantly scrolling, for hours on end and FOR WHAT??? The amount of growth I have experienced in just 30 days has been mind-blowing.
The first few days was weird, I found myself picking up my phone constantly when I didn’t want to be in my emotions or when I was bored. I took Instagram off my home screen and turned off notifications and honestly that was all I needed. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says to make bad habits inconvenient to engage in and that’s exactly what I did and guess what? It worked. I was TERRIFIED I would lose clients, friends, followers, leads and opportunities…and guess what? I GAINED all of that and MORE. My mind was so focused on my business, growing as an individual, and being present in the moment and it showed!
Deep down, I knew that I was exposing myself to drama and negativity constantly but I didn’t realize just how much until it was gone. Every time I would open Instagram there was someone else complaining, someone else spreading false information, and someone else being miserable and I was taking all of that in. I truly feel I have been a much better mom, clinician, friend and overall human since this social media cleanse. I’ve been focused on what is within my control, what I can do, and what I want to change and things are happening!
While I was away, I read 20 books (I started my 21st on July 30th!), started listening to daily affirmations for my money mindset, consistently wrote and posted blogs to my website, applied to 8 different Employee Assistance Programs to get myself and my business in front of more people, and I gained a handful of new clients!!! All of these things brought me back to ME, I truly feel like myself again. I feel clear headed, motivated, and ready to take on the world!
I know social media can be a great place, but for me, it just wasn’t anymore. I was not using it as a tool for my business, I was using it as avoidance of my feelings and my life and I no longer feel the need to do that. So, while I am back, I will not be on it constantly, I no longer feel the need to post every workout, or to respond to comments/messages as soon as they are sent. I thought for sure it was going to be weird not posting my workouts because I’ve posted them daily for, I don’t know, the past 4 years! But instead, I have come to realize I am much more present and mindful without worrying about recording or having to start and stop a million times to end a video or having to sit for 10 min to edit the video to then post on Instagram! This is going to save me so much time during the school year when I have to leave my house at 7am to get my kid to school! Maybe I’ll post workouts once a week when I have the time or feel like I want to but I no longer feel chained to Instagram.
I hope this inspires you to take action and take a step back from things that are no longer serving you the way you’d hope it would! Here’s to being present in live and not scrolling it away! You fucking got this! ~Stef
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