Comparison, Social Media & Success: Defining Your Own Success
Last year around this time, I sat down with Rutgers Career Service for their Alumni Video Session titled “30 Under 30″. This series gave Alumni’s the chance to provide career advice for students that are transitioning from college to career.
They asked several questions before and during filming on how I defined success, what mantra’s I followed to get me to success and what advice I can provide to new graduates besides, the usual, networking and interning advice many will give. Before embarking on your journey, you have to understand, your journey is yours.
“Everyone’s Journey is different” and when you understand that you become more at peace with where you are in the present moment. Your success is how you define it. When you become at peace with this, everything that you accomplish along your journey, both professionally and personally, becomes rewarding.
“What’s for Sally” isn’t necessarily “What’s for Susie”. We live in a digital world, where everyone will post the best moments of their lives through social media. Notice how I said, “THE BEST MOMENTS” of their lives. So it’s rather simple, easy for us to fall into a negative state of mind, thinking “WTH am I doing with my life?” “I don’t have a job lined up for me after college. I will never find a job.” We begin to think that our lives, full of binge watching Queen of the South or Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, are not exciting and thrilling as that huge event your friend Snap Chatted. Your friend just posted on Instagram that they just got the job of their dreams, another friend just brought a house, and another friend is finally settling down and getting married. Then you start to compare your life to what is shown to you online. You’re working at a dead end job with a boss that absolutely doesn’t want you to grow or better yet, you are currently unemployed, living at home with you parents still, single. “Where is my happy you think? How can they afford this? Why isn’t Success coming to me?”
I am in no way stating that social media forums such as Instagram, Facebook and Snap-Chat, should be removed. I am stating that it does play a role in our mental well-being and in order to move forward in your personal well-being and have success on your own journey, you have to recognize that comparison triggers negative thinking which hinders your ability to gain success. Build your own brand, NETWORK, NETWORK, express yourself and build your identity online, but be sure to not compare your life to what your friends are posting online. You never know where your journey will take you.
Theodore Roosevelt stated, “Comparison is the thief of Joy”. STOP comparing your journey to someone else’s. That is how you find your own bliss and define your own success. Every moment of your journey builds you up to your own success. You know what success can look like? It can be simply being able to wake up in the morning before work and establish your own morning routine that brings you so much joy. Success is graduating from college. It can be working in a career, just to get your foot in the door, because that foot in the door can lead to somewhere else, somewhere you are meant to be. It can be volunteering your time for a charity that you love. It can be being the best stay at home mother or father you can possibly be.Success doesn’t have to be massive. You don’t have to establish your own company to be successful. It can be steady, it can be little, it can be light, and it can be a stepping stone.
So, tell me, how do you define your success? Check out: https://lavenderblissonline.wordpress.com/