I’m not like everyone else. I never will be. You could say that’s a good thing. That makes me unique. And many times I feel the same way. But then there are times, that I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. At a social event for instance – You’ll see others drinking and staying up late. You’ll find me with water in the corner, ready to turn in by nine. I wasn’t always like that, but as I find myself I realize I’m most comfortable that way. I’m a homebody. I love my animals, my safe space, the people I’m closest to. I’m simple – I’m not about presentation or what others think. What you see is what you get. Like I said – sometimes I love this about me. But other times, I find myself asking “why can’t I fit in?” I try and then feel extremely unsettled because it doesn’t align with me. Have you ever felt this way?
I’m sure we all have at one point in our lives – but truth is – there is no one right way to be. Me drinking water isn’t better than others drinking alcohol – it just is every individual being an individual. So why do I feel like others are superior to me or doing the “cool” thing? What makes that the right thing in my mind?
The closest answer I have to that question is the increased use of social media, accompanied by low self esteem. Recently I watched a documentary on Netflix entitled “The Social Dilemma”. In that documentary, they argue that with the rise of social media, people have become more depressed because they envision life a certain way. With pictures of what seems like the perfect life and filters to distort what we really look like, it is hard to convince yourself that life isn’t always perfect or one way.
We are conditioned to think we need to fit in with this image, but what does it mean to fit in? Get married, have babies, have the perfect body, and job? This is not everyone’s path…and trying to fit in with this stereotype will only force yourself out of alignment.
In the end, how is that the right thing to be doing?
I have being doing some soul searching and this is what I have discovered – at the end of the day, we aren’t meant to conform to anything. We are meant to find like-minded people to do life with. Social media depicts only a small snapshot of a person’s overall life – and that snapshot is not everyone’s path. There is no right way to do life. It’s about finding your tribe – the people that will lift you up and help you develop into your best self. You will not always be everyone’s cup of tea and that is okay. Embrace who you are, follow only those that lift you up….and do not let yourself think you are less than what someone else portrays themselves to be.
Social media can be a great thing – but do not let it determine who you are and what you stand for.
#socialmedia #selfesteem #depressed #life #encouragement #inspiration #keepgoing
The Holistic Life 