InstaGratification

There’s a lot going on in the world & it’s no surprise that a lot of people are struggling with anxiety & depression.

There are many reasons, too many to name, however, one reason is our relationship with social media.

More specifically, is, people are magnetized to constantly checking it for Instagratification(IG) as a solution to something; for instance, not wanting to deal with something in life or their feelings.

There’s the old saying that the grass is greener on the other side & although that might be true in certain instances, it’s still not a great way to live.

People often compare their real life, to others’ IG life, where there are carefully curated posts, including doctored photos of “models” & people living “their best life.”

Stop comparing your real life to people’s IG life.

Also, people promoting their expertise on social media are marketing the area they have credibility in … they aren’t showing you all the other areas of their lives that are in shambles, full of fear & shame, or revealing feelings of being vulnerable, lost & confused.

Even therapists, coaches & healers like myself struggle in areas of our lives ... & anyone promoting that they don’t, is full of sh!t & you should run the other way.

Speaking for coaches & healers … what gives us credibility is our unique relationship to our struggles & shame. It’s our ability to head into the direction of our shame, rather than running the other way, that gives us credibility.

We do this because we know that by working out our shame, we alchemize it into more love for ourselves. We know that as we work out our own stuff, we show people what’s possible for themselves.

We also know that the only way to transform shame is by dealing with it, rather than running the other way or pretending it’s not there … you can’t avoid it.

… but that doesn’t stop us from trying. People seek to dress up their shame in fancy clothes or to get a six pack, thinking that will solve it. They’ll even commit to making a bunch of money in the hopes of ridding themselves of their shame.

All of these endeavors are fine goals to accomplish, however if they are a solution to getting rid of shame, this will only reinforce it.

Anyone in our position who claims to be rid of all of their fear & shame has no idea of what vulnerability looks like & therefore has very little to teach & contribute in this way.

If you have to be in competition with someone, it might as well be with yourself; stop looking to someone on IG to be in competition with, the only person to compete with is the version of yourself from last year.