How To Beat Instagram + Have Fun Again | Ending The Comparison Game

Let me precede this post by saying I've decided to inject a bit more of myself and my thoughts into my blog. I have a lot of tutorials, encouragement posts, and shares of my work. But every now and again I have things on my mind I'd like to share, and a blog seems like the perfect place to share them right?

So, let's talk Instagram.

And no, not in a "How To Get More Followers On Instagram" type way. Not even "How To Use Instagram To Your Advantage".

I want to talk about the dangers of instagram. Because lately I've been hearing so many people lamenting on how their follower numbers aren't growing on instagram as rapidly as they'd like. Or how instagram isn't fun anymore and they want to delete it. Or how everyone's life seems so perfect (via their timeline) and theirs isn't.

GUYS. GUYSSS. I get it, I do. But when did we decide to let a social media app weigh so heavily in our lives? When did we link our value to the notifications that pop up on our screen? The more I see comments like these, the more concerned I am.

Now, I'm not perfect. Honestly, I spend wayyyy too much time scrolling through my feed. And sometimes I even find myself playing the comparison game, too. But there's a faintly drawn line in the instagram sand, and if you've crossed that line it's probably time to start re-evaluating some things.

For one, what does more followers mean? Really? For your business, yes it COULD mean more sales/money flowing in. But if you're not using instagram for business, then why do you need 28.6K followers? More followers doesn't mean more VALUE in your life. It just doesn't. The equation doesn't add up. If you find yourself yearning for more followers, I want you to answer this question aloud: "what will having more followers do for me?" If you can't come up with a legit answer, it's time to re-think your desires when it comes to instagram.

And a note on the comparison game: STOP.

I know it's been said before but we've all got to cut it out. It's human nature to compare every once and again, but not to the point that you feel like everyone else's lives are perfect and yours is in shambles.

Here's a challenge for you: Scroll through your own feed. Scroll scroll scroll. Take note of what you see. Now, answer this: does it look like YOUR life is in shambles? Probably not, right? Why? Probably because you're only showing the highlights for the most part. You're sharing the good, fun stuff and keeping the bad tucked in where no one can see. SO WHAT MAKES YOU THINK EVERYONE ELSE ISN'T DOING THE SAME!?

Newsflash: most of us DON'T have our shit together. We just don't. But we've all learned to make it look like we do, all while simultaneously looking at everyone else thinking "I know I'm pretending but SURELY they must ACTUALLY have it all together".

In reality, we're all just doing the best we can to make it look like we're doing the best we can. Don't be fooled by the facades. Just don't. Because guess what? There's probably someone right now comparing YOUR life to theirs, thinking yours is perfect and theirs is a mess. It's a very unhealthy cycle we should all be looking to break.

I don't want this to sound super preachy, AT ALL. But I DO want it to be a wake up call and a point for self-reflection.

I want us all to turn in our jerseys for the comparison game because we're no longer playing.