S
ocial media. Most of us are using it
it in some form or another. We all
choose to share various aspects
of our lives, the majority of which
is only our highlight reel. I spend
more hours than I care to admit, mindlessly
scrolling through Instagram, some days
feeling inspired by what I see, other days
feeling inferior and like I’ll never been good
enough, or pretty enough, or perfect enough.
When I am feeling low and insecure, social
media only serves to make me feel worse. I
become more judgemental, more critical. I
become the worst version of me.
What am I not seeing though when I scroll
through Instagram and Facebook? I’m not
seeing anyone crippled in pain with chronic
illness, or crying because they’ve argued
with their partners, or family, or friends. I’m
not seeing people so low with anxiety and
depression that they couldn’t get out of bed.
I’m not seeing men and women battling with
eating disorders or young children being
bullied at school. I could go on: the list of
bad stuff that people are dealing with that
they choose not to share is endless.
We live in a world where ‘perfection’ is
desirable above all else. Where sharing
the ugly stuff is to be ‘too emotional’, an
‘overshare’, or “She’s dramatic’’ or ‘’He
needs to man up’’. Hell, I’m able to write this
because I’ve said all of those things about
other people when they are brave enough to
share their lows. We’re taught by the media
that we’re not good enough, we need to have
more, to buy more, to be more.Disconnecting
I’ve realised something though. The more I
share my highlight reel on Instagram in the
hope of connecting, the more I am actually
disconnecting people with my reality. I bump
into people all of the time who very kindly
congratulate me on how well I am doing with
my yoga career. And I am doing well, I’m very
proud of myself and the path I’m working hardto pave for myself. But the reality of it is not as
rosy I would have you believe. Case in point:n I have probably had three classes this
year with zero attendance – I did not post
this for fear of looking like a bad teacher.n I can’t handstand – or can I? I can stand
on my hands but only hold it 50% of the time
for maybe three seconds.n I spend so much time either working
my full-time job and teaching that I have
‘socialised’ with each of my three best
friends maybe once, at most, twice, in the
last three months.n I post a series of photos from one practice
because I don’t have a daily practice, more
like a twice a week practice — after class on a
Friday and maybe one over the weekend.n In recent months, I’ve probably had four
or five classes where I am just breaking even
financially by the time I have paid for the
room rental.Take responsibility
The point I am trying to make is that my
life isn’t all sunshine and smiles. I’m working
my butt off, often at the expense of time
with the people that matter most to me. I
don’t have the perfect yoga practice or the
perfect, budding yoga career. I’m just another
woman, trying to make a success of herself
in the best way I know and I am not alone in
this. Everyone is fighting their own battles,
convinced that letting the world see their lows
makes them weak or not good enough. It’s
not always appropriate to share everything
on social media so I think it would do us
all good to remember this next time we’re
comparing ourselves to someone, or judging
someone else’s life, because we don’t know
their story. Check in with yourself on the days
that you find yourself feeling negative about
what you’re seeing rather than positive or
inspired, because the content never really
changes, the only thing that changes from
day-to-day is our state of mind.
Our thoughts are a direct reflection of how
we feel in ourselves. So take responsibility for
your own thoughts and let’s cut each other
some slack. Life is hard enough as it is and
when all is said and done, we’re all just doing
the best we know how.Natasha Cornish is a self employed yoga
teacher based in Devon (yogaeverafter.co.uk)“The more I share
my highlight reel on
Instagram in the hope
of connecting, the
more I am actually
disconnecting people
with my reality.”Te acher zone