Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about two things:
- How social media affects us as business owners – who we follow, who we compare ourselves to, what we think we “should” be doing
- Taking time out to connect with your inner wisdom on a deeper level – and how working in this way allows us to create more authentic, meaningful businesses
It hit me this morning that these two things are incredibly intertwined.
I created Self Care on Social Media for Business Owners to help people like you and me make sure they’re not too distracted by other people on the internet, and instead to cultivate their own authentic voice.
And I’m running a video series on why and how to take time out of the busy-work in order to cultivate better business alignment. Because I know that that’s the only way to get really clear on what you want.
Ultimately, that thing you see on the internet, on Instagram, on the grapevine – you know, the one you imagine means “true success”? What if that thing wasn’t an aspirational post or a Pinterest board or a beautifully styled image? What if, instead, it was a feeling and a source of power and inspiration within you?
Does that sound like nonsense? Stay with me.
For generations, and especially in the last 100 years, we’ve cultivated our homes, our lives, our clothes, and our spaces to be an outer expression of who we are. We want our spaces to represent a part of us: Comfy sofas demonstrate our passion for relaxation and welcoming guests. Sassy t-shirt slogans let people know we’re sarcastic. A yellow front door tells the world we value joy and fun.
That’s the idea, right?
And if you’re a business owner or creative entrepreneur or a maker, your work is also an expression of who you are – at least in part. (Because we’re really very complex human beings, so that one print you designed probably won’t pack all of it in.)
But what if we reverse engineer it?
Those Instagram posts you like are telling you something about yourself, or a feeling you want to cultivate in your own life and business.
What if, rather than wishing we had the styled, superficial photo, we dug deeper into what it means to us?
Maybe that flatlay of pretty autumnal things is telling you you want to be more creative, just for the hell of it (and not for your business).
Perhaps that new product by that brand you admire is showing you that you want to be really confident in the new things that you launch.
What if that crazy helpful blog series is showing you that you too want to be helpful?
Rather than trying to replicate the content or the look or the aesthetic, what if we sink deeper into the feeling we have within us? From where I’m sitting, going inward and exploring it internally will help us get to a unique and authentic expression of something that’s never been seen before.
So I think I’m coming to understand that there’s wisdom in combining these two things: taking good care of yourself on social media by noticing where you slip into envy and comparison AND going deeper to explore what these external indicators really mean for you.
That aspirational feeling is inside you. It isn’t in the yellow door or the perfectly styled flatlay. It’s within you. And it deserves exploration and expression.
What do you think? Am I rambling, or is there something here?
Jenny x
