Have you ever noticed how many distractions we have available to us these days? It seems that I can easily find something else to do for hours if not days! If it’s not TV with its huge selection of diversions, it’s games on my phone, there’s the Internet which is an endless source of distraction and of course social media.
Whilst I love social media for staying in touch with friends and it has been great for promoting my business, it is so easy to get caught up with it. It’s also really easy to suddenly realise you’ve been spending a LOT of time just scrolling through looking at what other people have to say and comparing yourself to them. I try not to do it because I know that people only put their best photo or the one of the sunny day in Spain on a grim Monday morning at home.
The trouble is that when you start comparing your life to someone else’s, it’s a dangerous habit to get into because people only put the very best of themselves and their lives on social media. Some people can spend a serious amount of time and money getting the perfect picture, or the perfect new toy to photograph. But it’s not their real life all the time.
My biggest problem with all of this is the feeling it provokes that there must be something wrong with you because you don’t have all these things, or you will never be as beautiful/rich/classy/happy etc. as these people. Firstly, I have to ask what’s so wrong with you that you want to be like someone else? If you’ve just made a list in your head, we need to talk! Secondly, if you want something different in your life, you need to do something different. Make a change!
Got distracted myself there!! I had to give myself a break from Facebook about this time last year because I spent so much time looking at what other people had to say and getting really pissed off about it! I now try to limit my time looking at social media to stop that happening but it’s so easy to spend more time than you expected on there. Whether it’s 5 minutes while you’re waiting for something to boil or having a break from work, it’s so easy to jump into that little bubble and stay there for far too long.
But what are we avoiding? What are we distracting ourselves from? I know for me, it’s just another form of procrastination. I put things off because if I finish them, I have to move forward away from the comfort zone I’ve just built for myself. I’ve already spent far too much time playing games and watching TV instead of writing this week’s blog. But the worst thing about this is that while I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about the fact that I’ve got to do it!
Instead of just getting on with it and doing a task I’ve been set, I’m doing something comparatively easy and that doesn’t require much thought. And while I’m doing that, I’m just thinking about what I should be doing. Putting things off actually takes up more space in my head than just getting on with it! I’ve always been a procrastinator, but I’ve found recently that if I just get on with it, there’s a sense of peace that I didn’t realise I could achieve.
I also got used to constantly having some kind of background noise on – usually the TV – and have started switching it off for short amounts of time while I’m doing something else. It’s amazing how much more you get done in a shorter space of time without those background distractions. So if there’s anything you need to do have been putting off, just do it. See how different it feels instead of leaving it until the last minute. How much more space there is for anything else in your head.
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