Lessons from an Entrepreneur: The System of Social Media

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through your social media feed, admiring influencers and those close to you and all of a sudden, BOOM, you call your life into question? You begin scouring over the progress you’ve made in your career, your current standing in life, the connections you have, all of your lifelong accomplishments. You hold each aspect to a microscope to assess their value in comparison to the lives of others. This happens to the best of us, including myself. I begin asking “What am I doing wrong? Why do I feel inadequate?”. I found myself becoming envious of objects and experiences that previously did not interest me. Crazy, I know! 

Like many of us have realized, social media is the new wild wild west. The same benefits that encourage easy connectivity to the lives and experiences of people around the world is also what stirs up our own feelings of lack. So how do we beat the system?

Here are four tips for remaining uplifted and encouraged during your day-to-day scroll time. 

1. Set Your Goals. Outline your short-term and long-term goals. Think about your ideal life, the experiences you would like to have and the objects you would like to obtain. Having a clear plan and strategy around where you want to go will help you stay focused on following your own path instead of desiring the accomplishments of others.
2. Reduce your social media time. Consider cutting back on your daily scroll time to eliminate the desire for comparison. When I realized my time on social media was becoming more negative than positive, I made the decision to reduce the time I spent scrolling. Limiting my time resulted in truly celebrating the accomplishments of my peers and allowing their tips and tricks to fuel me into action instead of fuel me into self-doubt. 
3. It’s easy to spend way too much time on social media. Hours can feel like seconds when you’re in the virtual world. When you spend too much time watching the lives and accomplishments of others instead of focusing on your own goals you are squandering your ambition and will to succeed. Remember, social media will always show the “ups” but will never show the “downs”. Don’t compare yourself to others, instead, dwell in the positive moments within your entrepreneurial journey.
4. Celebrate Your Successes: Often times we downplay the successes we are achieving each and every day. Instead of brushing these accomplishments off your shoulder, celebrate your large and small milestones!