Hello friends, I’m Kati Whitledge, the founder of Be Inspired Salon. Welcome back to the Be Inspired blog where our goal is to inspire, inform, and include you.
Have you ever reached a point of such overwhelm that you know you just need a break? That’s how I felt in late 2020 after experiencing the most disruption I’ve ever endured in my adult life.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been on social media ever since MySpace arrived. It wasn’t a problem for me for many years. But slowly I started feeling more anxious, less confident, and more obsessed with making sure I liked, commented, and shared the best posts possible. It was sucking the life out of me.
DO I SHARE?
I debated whether to share this because we utilize social media to generate brand awareness sand encourage future guests to work with us. But what’s most important? More eyes on our ads or more hearts at peace?
I wanted peace in my life again, so I officially logged off of Facebook and Instagram on December, 1st 2020. At first it was challenge. I was tempted to log into my husband’s account just to see what I was missing out on. But after about a week, I felt the benefits. And wow—there are many!
STRONGER THAN TECHNOLOGY?
As an avid reader, learner, and studier of psychology, marketing, and behavioral science, I am well aware of the intentional grip technology apps want to have on us. They’re made to be used often. They’re created to keep you logged in and ever present to receive the unending messages, ads, and offers.
Though I knew this logically, I wasn’t strong enough to battle the emotional responses I had when I spent my days in and out of social media. I started to notice that I was becoming short with my family—even angry at times. I noticed I wasn’t fully present with family and friends at events. I wasn’t posting my own photos for fun anymore. It became work—a strategy. I started overthinking everything I shared, everything I said, and how I said it. To the point where I felt inauthentic—it didn’t feel like me!
I started thinking to myself, who the heck am I? What do I believe? What do I enjoy? What is happening in our city, country, and world? I hit a breaking point. And that’s when I knew it was time to remove the distraction of social media.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
1. I learned that no one misses me on social media. That may sound obvious, but one of my fears when exiting was that I would somehow lose some street cred. I thought I’d be out of site and out of mind. Fortunately, or unfortunately, everyone is busy and when they’re on social, there’s so much to take in that if one person drops of their radar, there’s plenty of stimulation to replace them. This was truly a relief!
2. I learned that there’s life beyond social media. My network, my friends, and my social life used to somewhat live on social. What a sad thing. But now, I have life more abundantly. I may not know the newest hairstyle a celebrity is rocking, but the relationships with the people in my life have strengthened—deepened. I’ve gotten to know my neighbors, their kids, and my community. It’s so much more rewarding and real. It’s like going back in time—a time where you get to know the people you encounter in your community and you all live life together. It’s awesome!
3. I’ve learned that freedom is on the other side of social media. There’s no more obligation to post, share, like, or comment. When I want to engage with others, I do that through text, phone calls, or face-to-face. I don’t have anxious feelings, comparison challenges, or lingering anger or sadness. Was it that I wasn’t strong or sensible? Or was it that I eventually saw the signs and effects social was having on me? What I know is, now I have peace, joy, hope, and the love of the people I’m interacting in life with every day.
4. I’ve learned that our companies can thrive without my personal social media presence. There was always this weight that I felt, where I needed to be the face of our companies and have my own influential platform as well. I’ve been encouraged many times to share more about my lifestyle, myself, my thoughts, or my advice. It was a lot of pressure. But leaving social didn’t hurt our businesses, it actually helped me think clearly, review our companies, and focus on exponential growth! Another affirmation of the freeing effect of leaving social media.
TO COME BACK OR TO NOT COME BACK
This is the question. I don’t know! I’m truly enjoying this break. I’m seeing a lack of need for my presence on social. But I won’t discount the future. There might be a time where it makes sense for me to connect with specific audiences for specific reasons. But, then again, maybe not. I don’t want to have an end date or startup date. I just love that life feels good, calm, peaceful, and the people we are living life with are happy, hopeful, and thriving. That’s where I want to be and that’s what I want to surround myself with.
WILL YOU TAKE A BREAK?
I’m not sure if this is helpful or encouraging for you. I don’t know where you’re at with the social media topic? But, if you’ve thought about the break and you’re scared of what you might miss out on, I’m here to say, you won’t miss out! Rather, you will embrace life in a new way. You will invite new things into your life that are tangible and rewarding. Life is good here :) If you decide to try this for a while, please email me back and let me know how it goes!
Thanks for allowing me to share this personal topic with you.
Until next time,
Be Inspired & Stay Strong
