Social Media Detox: Navigating the Power of Breaking Free to Find My Authenticity
Cause caring what others think takes time away from the important stuff.
A few months ago, I started an unintentional social media break. I began to notice that every time I opened social media or thought about creating content, I would instantly feel overwhelmed and my mind would go into panic mode. I found myself tortured between societal expectations and my personal desires. It was sucking the soul out of me. I subconsciously knew I needed to do something different but I didn’t know what that “different” looked like. The best thing for me to do was to step back and look within so I completely stopped engaging.
During this break, my book club was reading ‘The Mountain Is You’ by Brianna Wiest which discusses self-sabotage and how to overcome it. It was like the universe knew exactly what I was going through and gave me the exact solution I needed. This is why I don’t believe in coincidences but synchronicities! The information in the book started to help me piece everything together and I felt myself evolving each week I read a new chapter.
I became aware that I was experiencing consistent burn out by not showing up authentically and I felt like I couldn’t genuinely connect with others because I was in a constant state of worrying about others opinions. The internet is such a wonderful place to connect with others and grow a business but I felt scared to put myself out there just to get negative feedback. I thought I had to follow a specific formula and be tied down to a specific niche to grow on social media, but that’s not the case. This problem didn’t start with social media either! When I was a kid, my mom would tell me “get out of this box that you put yourself in” and at the time I’d argue that I wasn’t in any sort of “box”, but now that I look back, I was experiencing this obstacle over and over in all types of situations and now I am accepting it was something my soul had chosen for me to struggle with during this lifetime. It took me a while to understand that I was creating these restrictions in my mind and sabotaging myself and it was time for me to start working through this.
My personality type has an insatiable desire for learning and a deep longing to help others. This has been both a pain point and a blessing for me because I get so excited to learn new things but the second the learning got to a point where I would be somewhat good at it and I would get feedback, I’d become anxious and self sabotage. I didn’t want anyone to look at me or see me in the act of learning something new for fear of failing or looking stupid. I was afraid of what would happen if I were to step into my power. Deep down I felt my goals weren’t worth pursuing. My inner child was so hurt with insecurity that it started to stand in the way of my success. All I’ve ever wanted was to feel free to express myself without caring what others thought and being a creative entrepreneur during the social media age really opened this vulnerability wound. After facing the reality of my fears, I felt a push to let this pain go because at this point I was just wasting my time. I gave myself as much grace as I could
muster on the days I didn’t feel like keeping up with being creative, but it got to a point where I was forcing myself to do something I didn’t want to do while at the same time putting tasks off that would benefit me. I realized it doesn’t feel right to me because I’m not doing it in a way that feels natural. Life to me feels better when it is less rigid, less bound by rules. I couldn’t see myself consistently showing up in a way where I am the spotlight because I would prefer to communicate my ideas in other, more subtle ways. It feels more comfortable.
I’ve always admired people who did things differently and paved a new way of making something successful. I wanted to be the example but instead I was following the crowd. It’s important for me to remind myself that I don’t need to keep up with the ever changing landscape of social media to grow a community and I don’t have to be a natural marketer. Most marketing to me is not genuine and pushes consumerism so me trying to follow trends and be aesthetic and worry about these materialistic things wasn’t giving me the space I needed to be the real me. Social media is a space where authenticity can feel scarce, replaced by curated perfection and unrealistic standards of success. These unwritten societal rules dictate how we should look, act and present ourselves especially online but the REAL me is organized yet messy, a little chaotic, sensitive, smart, bold, expressive, opinionated, eclectic and has a very different way of looking at the world. I am interested in lots of different things and get excited talking about all of them! I am never bored – there’s too much to learn and do!
I found myself at a crossroads, questioning my identity, my purpose, and the legacy I hoped to leave behind. But amidst the confusion, I discovered the power of surrendering to who I am deep down, letting go of societal expectations, and trusting in my intuition.
To be authentic, you have to listen to your needs so that’s what I am starting to do and now I feel unstoppable. All I had to do was accept the change that was happening within me and cultivate the discipline to stick with the routine that feels the best. I had been avoiding doing the work because I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted and I couldn’t see if there was another way to make it work. All I had to do was be patient, pause and reflect for a little while.
This story is a reminder that it’s ok to stop when things aren’t working out the way you anticipated so you reassess what you want to change and start again. I realized that I
deserve to step into my power and create the life that I desire. I realized I am capable of embracing my uniqueness and allowing others to accept me. I realized that the only person that judges me the harshest is myself. I realized that true success lies in embracing my unique voice and perspective. I realized that perfection is neither attainable nor necessary and most importantly any haters are my motivators (silent or not).
I started to ask myself what does managing the long terms goals of my creative business look like and how can I stay true to myself while doing that? Where am I restricting myself and how can I use my multi-passionate personality to set myself apart? How can I put myself in flow instead of forcing things? How can I use my knowledge to help others?
With a newfound sense of self worth, I have reimagined my approach of what showing up authentically and consistently looks like even beyond my online presence. This energy permeates every aspect of my life. I’ve learned to prioritize my well-being, listen to my body’s needs, and to approach life with a sense of balance and compassion.
In the end, authenticity is not a destination but a continuous journey—a journey marked by self-discovery, growth, and an unwavering commitment to yourself. As I navigate this journey, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences and to connect and inspire others along the way. Thank you for sticking around and allowing me the space to figure myself out. Tell me, have you ever felt the same as me and how did you overcome it? What was your realization moment?
