“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” — Steven Furtick
One of the sad truths of today is that technology consumes us. It’s not just about the time, but how we use that time.
Social media, for instance, provides us with both an escape and a way of searching for a certain kind of validation from others.
We want the approval and admiration of others and we edit our lives to appear better than they really are.
But what happens when we get absorbed by the glitz and glamour of other people’s lives?
You lie to yourself and pretend that you are happier than you really are, and then you see other people doing the same thing but you fail to recognize the lie.
We’re all actors, and in playing this fantasy game we fail to grasp the simple fact that real life is always just outside our windows.
Real life is about being aware of your surroundings, about other people and their needs. Real life is about real people.
Real life is about experience. About genuine experience, the one you only “stumble upon” when you leave your comfort zone.
Real life is about struggles, not selfies. Real life is about getting broken and fixing yourself, not counting the wounds in a pathetic attempt to gather as many likes as possible.
Real life is about building confidence and discipline and patience, not about feeding your ego with other people’s (often misplaced) admiration.
Real life is about staying true to yourself. Be who you want to be, because that’s what you want, not because you want him or her to like you.
Real life is about enjoying the process, not becoming obsessed with the results.
By pretending to be anything other than who we really are we lose so much. It takes a phenomenal amount of mental effort to keep a mask on… And, in the end, undoubtedly, the mask will fall off.
Real life is not about other people and clever ways of manipulating them into fulfilling our needs and desires. Real life is about going out there, into this vast world, and finding out what is it that you really want.
From yourself and from others.
Real life has no like button, no delete button, or any other kind of button, because there’s no remote control.
Don’t like something? Change it.
so powerful! so necessary for this to be discussed <3
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Excellent post! Thank you for sharing!
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This is so amazing.
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Wonderful. How I wish more and more people got off the social media high before it’s too late.
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Why can’t more people read this? i see a lot of posts like this. Myself being included as someone who has written on this subject. Thing is, people do read this but because people are so consumed they pass it off.
“Real life is about enjoying the process, not becoming obsessed with the results.”
This makes me want to go outside and I just absorb it all in. I like social media as much as the next guy…or girl, but the sad truth is it is destroying us. Our alter-ego which exist in the digital world, it’s bad, if we choose it to act as such. If social media was more representative of the people behind their accounts, I wouldn’t say it’s so bad.
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Excellent post and glad you pointed out these truths! I agree one hundred per cent. :-)
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gosh I comment on all your recent posts like a stalker!
Just wanted to add, the secret of happiness is enjoying what we have: our family, friends, health even if relative, the woods next door in autumn, the company of our pets, a gentleman opening a door, a sales assistant laughing at our jokes. All these little daily gems nobody can buy nor lie about. This is real. And this is really important. Because these, you see, cannot be faked, cannot be fully expressed through the ether of social media…
People are not the value of yearly salary, the price of their house or cars or holiday or branded possessions. Yes, it is good to have primary needs met, treat ourselves once in a while but all the rest is needless, nothing, nada, rien. Do people remember your car, your shoes or your dress, your mobile phone brand and value when you die, do they even care? Do they remember the act of kindness, your laughter, your love for life? This is the real value. The human value can be priceless and limitless.
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Superb.I just loved your post.
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Thank you!
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Excellent post!
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Powerful message and superbly made the comparison
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Lovely post. And I think people need to learn the balance of enjoy what social media can show them, and being true and real to themselves.
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Amen to that!!
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This is spot on!! When I go to post things I try to ask myself what my motivation for posting is….is it helpful, kind or informative? Or is it just so people will like it? Def puts things into perspective. Great topic!
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Ahhh gosh this is so true!! I do worry for this generation and future generation if I’m honest…the saturation and easy access of social media has led a lot of us to live in a society that thrives off instant gratification and superficial interactions/relationships….would be nice if we dialled it back a tad and started living our lives for ourselves instead of “likes” ..myself included to some extent….it’s just a bit of a potentially dangerous web
x
thegrlwhoblog.wordpress.com
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I absolutely love this post! A week ago I shut down all my social media accounts, I just read your blog today. The first few days without social media were making me anxious. Each day that passes I am happier without it. As a small business owner I rely upon social media to share my blog and the interior design projects my business does. However, despite the fact I have met some really sweet people, I have felt an undue amount of pressure to keep up with liking back, commenting etc. They say all things must be done in moderation, I certainly didn’t know how to follow this with social media. I hope that if I go back I will learn how to stay away from it, only using it when it’s convenient for me, not allowing it take over my life. Balance is everything, thank you for this very important post!!
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This is a deep truth most would rather not hear or read. Real life indeed is so different from the facade we paint on social media. Thank you so much for this
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I like the line about enjoying the process not being Hung up on results. I enjoyed writing my doppelganger poem which got only four likes, So what?!
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Yes. You make excellent points. I would like another perspective. I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple chemical sensitivities. Most people do not understand. Most people are unwilling to go scent-free to make their physical presence safe for me. I am home most of the time because of my own health limitations as well as because of people’s personal choices. Social media, in spite of all of its mirages and faults, is still a blessing to me. It is a way for me to interact with the world. It is a way for me to offer support and compassion to people.
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Very comforting and encouraging. Anand Bose from Kerala
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Wow! Good thoughts brilliantly written!
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This is so true and well written ! Social media is a great tool to reach a bigger audience but should let go of our authentic self to do so.
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Wise comment. Interestingly, C.S.Lewis said something very similar in “The Screwtape Letters” about films and reality. Steve Furtick’s comment is also wise, though I think another reason why many people who are no way in desperate straits are insecure is noise – in the IT sense. We get so much information, so fast, from all over the world, so much contradictory or frightening, that we react like rats in a cage with flashing lights. We are adapting – young people can cope with this better than older – but are we adapting fast enough?
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I think we stopped adapting fast enough to the realities of life somewhere around 3,000 B.C. We do not have the psychology required to live in the society we ourselves created.
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Truth! I think we left behind just trying to be who we are and started trying to deal with who we think we should be compared to “everybody else.”
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I disconnected from Facebook 2 weeks ago and it feels so dang good!
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Well said!
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Absolutely true! I sometimes delete all social media and feel such bliss! It is unintentional but we do get caught in the loop of what is “real” and what’s “reel”. Great read. 😊
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love your authenticity ❤️ may we all stay in our grateful authentic space ❤️
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Yes, I could not agree more. This is why I’m determined… DETERMINED… to have a real life/a schedule/and a virtual life to keep my writing out other so it can become my day job. I refuse to allow for negative thinking. It just will be done!
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