Social media, good or bad?

With this new world filled with several social platforms right at our fingertips, we need to find ways to not let it negatively affect us.

In the past, I would have so much jealousy when scrolling through social media. I would be upset that my house never looked like the magazine photos or social media posts for more than an hour. The truth here is that it is not reality. Very few people live in a home that is always perfectly organized and cleaned to perfection.

If you have kids or pets, you will understand. If you do not and are like, I do not agree, visit someone with kids or pets and ask them. You try so hard to keep up with the way you did things before pets or children, but after time you change and realize there are more important things to focus your time and energy on.

Start using social media as inspiration. Use it to your advantage when you see a post you feel drawn to or want something similar. Avoiding jealousy can be challenging, but when you retrain your brain, it gets easier to use it for inspiration. Most of my thoughts of jealousy came from those perfectly curated photos of homes.

I felt my home was not pretty, clean enough, tiny, and all the other negative thoughts. I love entertaining and spending time with family and friends, so this was a sore point for me. When I heard someone talking on a podcast about using social media as inspiration instead of comparing yourself, it hit me hard.

I took that advice and started training my brain to see it as inspiration. I would save posts to return to and recreate them for myself. One of the things my husband and I created to improve our home was our pallet patio. We got all the pallets for free, so the only out-of-pocket costs were the nails, stain, and gravel. We put in work for almost a month building this patio.

If you have tik tok, you may have seen that post where they say, "you are going to have to take some old shit and make it nice shit." This is so true. Just because you do not have new nice stuff doesn't mean you can't have nice things. You can refinish furniture to make it how you want it, take care of what you have, and make your surroundings pleasant.

The fulfillment I get from creating something is intoxicating. Another thing my husband and I made for our home was our bar height table. Since we have a small house with children running around, we needed a large table where we could all sit together and share our day. Regular tables would take up to much space in our narrow dining area.

I saw a post for a DIY bar that inspired me to build a bar height table. With my husband's help and input, we created a beautiful wood bar height table that sits on two large tree stumps from our property. Our kids were excited to use the table once it was finished. They love sitting all together and sharing their day with us. This is precisely what I wanted! My family was drawn to the table to sit together, share our days, and spend quality time together.

Our family gathering spot

Taking care of yourself is so important. Keeping yourself happy is the key to being the most incredible human being you can be. Pamper yourself every now and then. Get that haircut/color. Put on makeup, work out, grab a glass of wine, take a bath, or read a book. You do what you like to do to relax and recoup to continue killing it every day!

I Listen to true crime podcasts and watch makeup tutorials. Being eccentric, loud, speaking the truth, and being happy with yourself and the skin you're in is ok. You will not be everybody’s cup of tea or cocktail; there is nothing wrong with that. I went through years of self-doubt and worry over all of it. Now looking back, what a waste of time! When you truly just be who you are, you will meet/find your people. The ones that truly get you will love you for you.

Changing my way of thinking has been a massive help with my depression and anxiety. I occasionally have moments of "man, I wish I could have that." When those thoughts come creeping in, I remind myself I can. I can if I put in the time and energy to have it.

Stop trying to fit in some mold of perfection because it does not exist. Throw all that worry and self-doubt out the window while driving your car down the highway at 60 miles an hour, and never look back! Stop comparing yourself to people on social media or other women, men, peers, etc. Everyone is unique and special in their own way, so comparing yourself to another is pointless.

I have found so much peace with myself now that I am no longer constantly comparing myself to others. I have the freedom to be myself with everyone I meet. Knowing my worth keeps me from being hurt that some do not like me. We are not going to like every person we meet.

You may not be in the same season as that person, the same financial status as that person, and just because you do things differently than them does not make them right for the way they do it and you wrong. Social media lies just as much as celebrities. Those pictures you are looking at are perfectly curated shots that are not necessarily how they even live.

There is no handbook to life. There are many ways to get from point a to point b, and we are not all on the same road simultaneously. Do what makes you happy, fill your social life with people that bring you joy, and remember you are perfect just the way you are!

I want to know. What do you think?