4 Ways to Protect Yourself from the Negative Impacts of Social Media
Facebooks and Instagrams of the world tell you how your school friend is having a great time with his spouse on an exotic island but you recently canceled an outstation trip due to your inlaws visiting you during the same time. LinkedIn gives you an update on how one of your ex-colleague who was a couple of years junior to you got promoted or cracked a senior position in one of the famous companies but you are still somehow managing to balance your life in your current organization without much of growth in the last couple of years. Or maybe your uncle called up a few weeks back and told you about the new car or a house that his son gifted to him — and here you are battling the monthly game of EMIs, kids’ school fees, office politics, and not to forget the anxiety due to recession in the industry. Or you felt like everyone around you has suddenly turned into an entrepreneur and hustling their way to the top — and, on the other hand, you are struggling to find out time to learn a new skill that you put on your TODO list 6 months back.
Wait !! Calm down !! Before you start feeling that I am rubbing you the wrong way — I am here to tell you that you are not alone. I am very much like you and there are millions of people like us who are like us and are overwhelmed by the race for MORE. Job title, income, grades, house, and Facebook likes — the number of categories in which we can compare ourselves to others is infinite. So is the number of people we can compare ourselves to. We all know that social media in general doesn’t provide a very well-rounded picture of people’s lives. It’s more like the cherry-picked perfect version. Other people’s lives seem better than yours because you’re comparing their director’s cuts with your behind-the-scenes.
Friends, none of us are behind or ahead — we are on time. We are not missing out on anything. Where you are right now is exactly where you are supposed to be. You are walking your own little unique path and that path has no timeline. There are no timed checkpoints. You can slowly jog or run as fast as you can.
In order to save myself from unnecessary anxiety or FOMO (fear of missing out) I started working on my mindset and would like to share 4 perspectives that may help you a bit -
1. Water Your Own Grass
When we focus on other people, we lose time that we could otherwise invest in ourselves. We don’t grow green grass by focusing on our neighbor’s garden, we do it by nurturing our own.
Focus on your personal growth and look out for ways to become better on regular basis. Pick up a new training program, or an online self-improvement class, join the community or social service groups, and network with people from different backgrounds, domains, or cultures.
2. Be Grateful and Practice Acceptance
Oprah said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough”. You can’t change something you don’t acknowledge. So, instead of resisting or fighting where you are, come to peace with it. Say yes to every part of your life, and from that place, make decisions that will move you in the right direction.
3. This Is Not the End of The Movie
If you’re not happy where you are today, remember that this is just a snapshot of your life. Where you are today doesn’t say anything about where you’ll be in one or three years from now. What matters isn’t where you are. What matters is your mindset, attitude, and where you’re going.
4. Use Technology Intelligently
Do not become a slave to technology. Use it for your benefit. You can always control what we would like to see/experience through present-day technology and shut them off when we do not need them. I have seen people following social media detox for days or weeks. At the end of the day let’s use technology intelligently.
Remember we are the best creation of the Almighty. Creation cannot become bigger than the creator. Social media is man-made and it cannot control us to the extent it starts hurting us.
Hope this blog helped you get some perspective and gave you a push to control the controllable and lead a better life.
Have a blissful day !!
