khirstyn

When staying at home during a break, using all of your free time to scroll through pages of pictures from people on constant trips, living lavishly, and looking flawless will flood not only your timeline, but your mind.

I recall my freshman year of college during first semester I had anxiety over keeping up with my social media while the pressures of school were more than overwhelming. At that time what was suppose to be a fun hobby of mine felt like it was another chore thrown at me and often felt like a burden. While I admit my feed and social media outlets are far from perfect, picking out filters and comparing the overall aesthetic of my brand to other bloggers got the best of me. So during the month of November I went on a social media cleanse. Here’s a step by step reel on how you can improve your mental state in a similar way that helped me.

1. Unfollow accounts that make you feel less than. The ones that you find yourself comparing your life to, or constantly wishing that you were able to travel as much as they do, or be as flawless as they have portrayed themselves to be.
2. Stay off of social media for a few weeks until you finish focusing on yourself and can get back on without it feeling like it’s hindering you.
3. Remember, that people often only post the highlights of their lives. Whether it be trips, or moments where they felt and looked their best. Social media gives you a skewed perception of everyone’s lives. It boils down to the art of deception, emphasis on art.
4. Post what makes you happy and don’t think about how others will receive it. Be confident with the content you create and it’ll increase your overall morale as well.
5. Adapt and find your style. Whether your style is constantly changing, or has remained the same since you started: just remember to do you and to stay authentic to yourself.
6. Realize the imperfections in things are what actually makes them perfect. For example I’ve always been ocd with colors and how they flow together in a given space, from the blogs I run to my Instagram feed. In reality it takes too much time to be that tedious and once I stopped focusing so much energy on everything being precisely right (in my mind anyways) and just eye balling pictures for the most part, I was able to save so much time and energy. Not to mention, the outcome actually turned out better visually.

While these steps seem truly simple and a bit dull, they worked in my case. Currently social media serves as a small business part in my life to the point where I can say it pays for my textbooks. If you stay true to yourself, create content that you love, and don’t see it as a “chore” or “work,” the end result will pay off (not always literally but mentally you’ll be more sane and happier).

Comparing yourself to others is always detrimental. You only have one life to live and YOU choose what happens during the precious time you are given on this Earth.