Every morning I set the goal of meditating for at least 10 minutes. I always feel better when I do and it helps me to kickstart my morning on the right note. However, there are some mornings when I lay in bed scrolling through social media and before I know it, I have eaten into my meditation time and end up having to skip it.
Sound familiar?
Doing this every now and again doesn’t phase me, but eventually, if I don’t keep it in check, I can go on for weeks like this until my morning meditation is nothing more than a distant memory.
I am sure I am not the only one who has fallen into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through social media, and it is this addictive behavior that can create toxic habits.
Social media does indeed have many benefits. It’s a great way to keep in touch with friends and it is also a great place to grow your business and brand. There is no doubt that it has many positives, but it also has a dark side, and more and more research is showing a correlation between social media use and depression and anxiety.
As social media is such a huge part of our lives, it is important to start thinking about ways to use it consciously and to be more mindful about what sort of emotions it is evoking.
Is social media distracting you from being the person you want to be? Does using it make you feel bad about yourself? Do you find that you start comparing yourself or your life to others? Do you feel jealous or frustrated when you see or hear certain things? Do you constantly feel the need to keep up with others?
By asking yourself these questions in a truthful and honest way, and by being aware of your emotions the next time you scroll through your feed, you can begin identifying what type of impact social media is having on your life and if you need to make any changes.
For me, my new goal is to not look at social media first thing in the morning and this is definitely helping me to stay on track with the things that I actually want to do before I start my day.
Many of us bring mindfulness to all areas of our lives, so why not in the way we use our phones and engage on social media?
If you feel that social media has started to shift you out of a place of higher consciousness, here are some quick tips to help-
- Set an intention before using any of your social accounts. What purpose do you hope to get out of this? Are you using social media to distract yourself or to connect?
- Unfollow people or organizations that evoke fear-based emotions
- Observe any negative self-talk or thoughts of comparison when using social media, and gently shift your focus to something else
- Focus on the positive aspects of social media such as using it to connect with friends and family, and to promote or share your ideas and stories
- Only share content that expresses the true you and not just for approval or “likes”
- Spread the love as much as possible and try not to judge others based on their social posts
Your worth is not measured in how many clicks or likes you get. It is not measured in how many beautiful selfies you can take or how cool your weekend looks.
Your true worth can only ever be measured from within. Your true worth has nothing to do with other people and has everything to do with how you feel about yourself.
Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. You of course, don’t have to make it part of your life, but if you choose to, try to approach it mindfully and consciously so it becomes something that enriches your life and not something that takes away from it.
