You don’t have to swipe long before running into some negative undertones which suggest a deeper rooted issue among creatives on SM. (I know because I’ve lived through some of it). Each of the following header statements are captions I've read while scrolling through social media this week. Let's take a moment to unpack these statements in order to understand ways to combat them & create healthy habits.
// “Ruining my feed by posting this” // “My feed has no flow” //
As creatives we may be aware of how we desire “our feed” to look overall (I know I am). Consistently using certain colors, combining different types of pictures to create open space, and posting in series of three are all good tools to form a cohesive look. There is nothing inherently wrong with using these methods to design “flow”. It’s part of bringing the joy of creativity into SM. However, when it causes you to become anxious, frequently over think, or criticize yourself for not “achieving” a certain look it has become unhealthy.
These patterns are telling that your sense of security & self worth might be trying to link itself to your Social Media presence (which can happen if you have 100K or 50 followers). This can be a very subtle progression and is often rooted in comparison. If you find yourself, frequently checking your recent post, being critical of your own work or presence, comparing, compulsively rewriting posts, or feeling anxiety before posting something exhale and realize it’s NOT that serious! Your social media is not a reflection of your value.
As creatives we are always growing, improving, and changing. Life was never meant to be fit into perfect square boxes. Our world is colorful and so is your life- ENJOY THAT & share it if you want to!
//“Sorry I haven’t posted in a while”// “Sorry I am a beginner”//
This is a caption that appears surprisingly often on SM. The word that stands out to me here is “Sorry”. It represents an apologetic standpoint. This language implies a feeling of obligation or “duty” to post. Again I will restate that your worth does not come from SM. The quantity of times you post or don't post does not reflect how "well" you are doing. If you are feeling the need to apologize to followers I believe it's time to look inward and ask yourself why you are feeling this way. If the root is comparing the amount of times you post to the amount others do ~ that is comparison and it will kill your contentment and joy. If you find yourself entering into comparison mode Stop yourself .... Name your blessings .... Focus on your strengths .... Remind yourself you are on a journey. ... Learn to redirect yourself towards being content.
//“Forgive my crappy handwriting” //
I am speaking directly to the lettering community here as both of these comments came from beginner calligraphers. If you adopt this mindset you are robbing yourself from the joy of being a beginner. Even after years of calligraphy you will always find ways to be better (trust me on this one). When you over critique and downplay your own work it will never be “good enough” in your eyes. PLEASE! just skip all of that & embrace where you are on your lettering journey! A healthy way to do this is intentionally focusing on positive things that you enjoy about your lettering and speaking them out loud.
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