The Surprise Benefits of Sharing My Life On Social Media
We’re getting to the end of another year, and just like you I’m wondering where the past 12 months have gone. For me, I must say that this past year has brought about a few changes. In my career, yes. My position and my responsibilities have certainly changed. But what I’ve been most able to appreciate is the change I’ve seen in myself.
I took a big step this year. With the help of my good friend, I decided to open up and share more of my life over social media. Trust me when I say this was not very easy for me. I’m the type of person that would prefer to keep my private life private.
But with some encouragement, I saw the opportunity that social media presented to engage my peers. And as I started becoming more comfortable with the idea, sharing became much easier and much more fulfilling than I could have imagined.
I’ll admit that I did put up a fight. I scrutinized every post, every picture, and every sentence that was made public on my platforms. But the truth is, as I got further into the year I realized how much deeper of a connection I felt with the people I interact with on a daily basis.
I would see them respond on my posts. Many times, some of my peers would stop me and we’d have a short conversation about the perspective of an article I had just written. Sometimes I would receive random messages from someone who said they’d been following my posts and share many of my beliefs.
It was all amazing, humbling, and the reactions were truly heartfelt. What made this even more special was that none of these reactions were my intention. I simply wanted to express more of the thoughts that were caught up in my head.
One thing I’ve learned about putting out my views is that I’m able to engage like minded individuals. People who share my same passions, my same visions, my same dedication to my family and my career. Sharing on social media has also opened me up to different perspectives. Understanding to respect and even learn from others who hold completely different viewpoints than my own has honestly made me a better person.
I plan to continue this type of engagement moving forward. Now that I’m more comfortable letting people in, I think I’m ready to take it a bit further. I can’t say that I know precisely what the future will look like, but I’m excited at the potential for discovery and more genuine connections.
#LeadWithStrength
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