My Social Media Hiatus: What I Learned & How I Found Better Ways to Connect
She meticulously frames a shot to capture the most beauiful image she can create. She uses filters to give it more appeal, pours heart and soul into a lengthly, thoughtful Instagram post. Cross shares on Facebook. Checks for likes every five minutes throughout the day. Feels bad when it doesn’t garner what she expects.
She trolls Instagram salivating over beautiful unachievable yoga asanas (postures). Feels bad again because her practice looks nothing like that.
“She” was me.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. ~Albert Einstein
I was insane.
I’m a yoga teacher. I follow lots of yoga accounts on social media. Have you seen images of beautiful yogis in complex poses on Instagram? I am in awe of what many women (and men) can do with thier bodies. The problem? I began to compare myself and my practice against these standards.
Luckily, I recognized the madness and took a six week social media hiatus during Lent.
Svadhyaya = self-study. I realized a lot of things during the break.
My message, why I practice, what I practice, how I internalize the practice, why I teach … all for different reasons beyond acheiving a complex pose. I’m envious of these beautiful shapes, but comparison isn’t helpful.
Besides comparison and feeling icky, I was also always ON. That’s not good for anyone.
As humans we have an on/off switch built into our nervous system — sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS). The SNS (fight or flight system) was designed for suvival. It was extremely useful to our ancient ancestors who ran from wild animals to survive.
The good news — there are generally no lions to run from.
The bad news — we’re still living primarily in our SNS because modern society demands it.
Television, radio, video games, digital everything — and social media. You’re not on Facebook? What’s wrong with you?
My television is never on. I rarely listen to music. I love silence. Weird, I know. But social media? I was a freak. It wasn’t good.
The hiatus also taught me how to use my time constructively. Showed me how much time I was wasting. Uncovered an underlying unhappiness that I couldn’t shake. Unveiled destructive thoughts. This list could go on.
But the most important thing I learned … that I was using social media to do what I love most — WRITE.
I had lots of comments during my absence …
“I miss your daily thoughts.”
“I always love reading your posts. They give me new perspectives.”
“The way you think is refreshing. I feel lighter after reading.”
The comments elated me. They showed me that my words do make a difference. The process, mode, and channel, however, was undermining my self worth. Instead of moving forward as a human, I regressed.
I’m back on social media, almost entirely only for business, but I’m cognizant and intentional about my time, energy and efforts. I’m writing a lot more here and on my personal blog. I know my “why.” I call that a win.
I am a writer. I need to express. It’s not about likes, loves, shares, retweets. Some days I reach a lot of people, others not so much. What if I only reach one person but the impact is huge? Shouldn’t that be enough? For me, the resounding answer is “yes.”
Thanks for reading. Did you enjoy? Please tap the 💚 to recommend it to others. Namaste, Heather
Heather is a holistic health writer and yoga educator. She shares here daily as part of her personal writing practice — mostly lessons about embodied living, yoga and personal development. Cheers to a life well lived!
