Being Present - Sooo Underrated

As I sit in the waiting room for my routine dental cleaning, the draw of my smartphone is like a magnet; I just can’t help myself! 

As I scroll through the newsfeed to see what everyone is up to, the emotional ups and downs I feel are very subtle, at almost a subconscious level. 

I snap out of it as my hygienist calls my name, and as I close the app it occurs to me that my happiness meter has dropped down a notch.

Does this happen to you? Are you aware when it does happen to you? 

If you check your social media often, it is likely that you feel twinges of disappointment and discontent - even though it is fun to see what everyone is up to! 

But there are the posts about a group of friends getting together for a concert that you weren’t invited to…
The family that has the photos from their exotic Mediterranean cruise…
The married couple that is constantly posting “lovey-dovey” things like “I miss you”, “can’t wait till our date tonight!”...
The “union buster” Mom who is showing all the crafts and projects with her children…

...And you are just trying to keep up with enough laundry so that everyone can have clean underwear.

Now don’t get me wrong there are a lot of inspirational quotes and stories as well - which is great! But sometimes it seems like everyone else is doing exciting and interesting things...and we’re not. 

I bet if there was a way to line up our lives, on average, we would see that we are all doing things that others would find interesting and exciting too.

If it really does get to you, then it may be time to set some limits. I know, I know, it is so difficult! I get it! I’m right there with you. 

Checking what everyone else is doing on social media causes stress and makes us feel inadequate. It also devours so much of our time that we could be doing other things...like being present!

It’s going to be difficult for me, but I am setting guidelines for my newsfeed addiction. I am only going to view at certain times during the day and night after the children have gone to bed and only for 15 minutes. Is that crazy? 

How tough this social media boundary challenge is...is actually ridiculous if you think about it. There are so many major issues in the world and managing personal social media consumption shouldn’t really be on the radar. But it is! 

I wonder how our emotional states and personal relationships will benefit if we choose to focus on our own lives and be present? 

How are your social media boundaries? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.