1. Remember why you started.
I do not know how far you have come. At the end of the day, the distance does not matter either. You have a goal or a purpose to realize. How you get there is important, but what you need is what gets you there. The question you should ask yourself during any rough patch is, why? Help comes and goes, but there are answers to that whole and centered question. You do not have to be the smartest, the fastest, or the strongest. You just have to be and do good.
2. Waiting is working.
Patience is a virtue. Patience also has no curfew. Instead of jumping ship, stay the course. You never know what will come your way if you wait longer. While you wait, use your process as it has worked before. If the results are not as desired moment to moment, change your approach. The beauty of waiting is that you are working towards an invisible end. Think of it this way: you get to make that end visible.
3. Givers can't be losers.
Author C.S. Lewis once said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." The company Red Bull hands out free cans of Red Bull at events as a means for potential customers to pay them forward. Just like everyone loves a compliment, being generous is not a weakness, but a strength. Giving allows you to be seen as a provider and those who welcome you will always have a place for you.
4. Prove yourself to no one.
People will judge you no matter what you do, good and bad. The only person that pays your bills, that feeds you three meals a day, and dresses you is going to be you. Social status is beaten to death in the popular media. So why join the anxiety-hidden rush of the tide? Your worth does not depend on the amount likes and shares you get online. What matters to you fits in your heart and you wear your heart on your sleeve in spareness. How you carry yourself now regardless of how people perceive you will let you meet someone you can be proud of and modest around moving forward: yourself.
5. Life goes on.
Whatever your problem may be, know that it is not the last. I know that sounds like the future will be filled with more problems, but that is not what I meant. Problems are often unpredictable, but as you work towards solutions, the problems become further and further away. You are not alone in the problems you face either. People want to help you and people are looking for your help. Do not let the world spin you around. Take the world for a spin.
Break the rules, but build better ones.
I Limited My Social Media Usage And I Challenge You To, Too
My worth is not defined by the amount of likes I get.
Every morning at 8 a.m., my alarm goes off, I roll over, and the first thing I do is check my Snapchat only to open a bunch of pictures of the top of someone's head, or the wall, or — my favorite — a black screen. This is something we're all guilty of, myself included. We all know that social media is becoming an addiction amongst us, so why do we still use them in an unhealthy way? Why are our friendships defined by who has the longest streak? Why are our perceptions of others based on the most perfectly posed presentations of people? Why is our self-worth dependent on the number of double taps or shares or comments?
My world used to revolve around social media.
Every time I posted a picture on Instagram, I would constantly refresh to see how many likes I had accumulated. The worst part about that is I would get upset if I didn't get any likes in the seconds between each refresh.
If I got bored or had some downtime between classes, I would spend hours just scrolling through the same posts, hoping to find something different.
So much of my life was wrapped up in the superficiality of social media posts to the point where I no longer knew who I was. I would see pictures of my friends who ended up at the same college and feel left out, I would see girls from high school joining sororities, I would see people looking so stunning and having so much fun, and I let that be the thing that influenced how I felt.
Social media consumed me. It made me forget all the wonderful things I have in my life. It made me value a photo opportunity more than just enjoying the moment for what it is. Let me tell you that a moment is no less valuable just because it isn't visually appealing.
I've recently started using the Screen Time feature on my iPhone. I set a two hour per day limit on my social media usage, and when that time is up, I can no longer open the apps. Since then, I've been spending more time face-to-face with the people I care about. I've reconnected with old hobbies. I feel less stressed. I stopped comparing myself to others. I learned to be happy with myself.
I limit my social media usage because all the time I've spent aimlessly scrolling through Instagram is time I could've spent going for a walk and enjoying the warmth of Spring.
I limit my social media usage because I value face-to-face interaction. I value hugs and laughter and all the other things you can't get from a screen.
I limit my social media usage because it hurts my feelings when other people are on their phones when I'm trying to talk to them so how can it be right that I do that to someone else?
I think about how dependent on social media we have become, and it makes me so grateful that the sun is too bright to see our phone screens outside and that the mountains raise too high to have good cell service. I'm grateful that my friends make me laugh so hard that I don't even think to check my phone.
So, I challenge you to separate yourself from your social media. Even if it's just for a day. See how your life changes.