Social Media Cleanse

So, last week I challenged myself to do something I've always wanted to do, but never followed through with because in all honestly, I didn't think I could do it. I made the decision to give up all social media for a week. I will be the first to admit that I am way too invested in social media and I waste a lot of my precious and valuable time scrolling through my newsfeed. While social media can be fun and a way to share with family and friends, I found myself caring way too much about what was going on in other's lives and what people might be saying about mine. After getting frustrated about some negative comments I received, a friend and I were talking about how giving ourselves a break from social media might be good for us. So we agreed to no social media for a week. I'll admit I was not 100% thrilled about it, but the fact that I had any reservations at all confirmed that I needed a break.

I decided to take this time away from social media and treat it almost like a fast. It's great to cut something negative or all-consuming out of your life, but I also wanted to replace the time I spent on social media with something positive and uplifting. It would have been really easy to not get on Facebook, but instead binge watch a series on Netflix or spend hours pinning recipes or DIY projects on Pinterest. I wanted to invest my time in something worth-while, not just replace one bad habit with another. At one point, my mom said, "Wow, you must have a lot of extra time now!" And that actually wasn't the case. It's not like I just sit on the couch for hours going through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every night, but I am very distracted by social media and give it more time and energy than I would care to admit. It was a challenging week, but so freeing! So here's a look at my observations and feelings during my social media "cleanse", if you will. At the end of it all, I'm really glad I did it and I would challenge anyone else who might tend to get sucked in to all of the posts, comments, likes, newsfeed, etc. mess to also give it a try! After all, there was life before Facebook ;)

Reasons Behind My Decision:

1. Too invested -- in what myself and others posted
2. Wasting my time
3. Letting other people's opinions bother me
4. Being nosy and needing to know what's going on with people
5. Comparison -- feeling like my life didn't live up to what others were posting


First Few Days:

1. Feeling disconnected and cut off from the world -- wanting to know what's going on with everyone
2. Realizing the habit of how often I checked social media without even thinking about it -- I had created such a mindless routine for myself
3. Noticing how often I caught myself thinking about what my "status" would be and what pictures I would post -- social media really was consuming my thoughts
4. I had to be intentional with my time even without social media or else I would automatically resort to time-wasters -- it's easy to fill my time with Netflix, Pinterest, Blogs, etc.
5. Becoming aware that I am not fully focused most of the time  -- I have a need to always be doing something and struggle with just doing one thing at a time
6. Feeling like a detox from an addiction -- sad, I know!
7. I'm not very good at being alone -- social media makes me feel like I'm with others, so I don't have to be "by myself"
8. Why do I need the approval of others to feel good about myself and my life?

Positives of No Social Media:

1. More focused on what I am doing and more present with the people around me
2. More time to do things that matter -- daily devotionals, focused time with my family, paying more attention to my surroundings, thinking about me as opposed to others
3. Not as consumed and thinking about it as much -- more clear and less cluttered thoughts
4. By day 4, I didn't care nearly as much -- the first few days were hard, but then I realized my life still went on even if I didn't know what other people were doing
5. Better at being alone and feeling okay about it
6. Less comparison and being so nosy
7. Connecting with friends through personal conversation instead of relying on social media to know what's going on in their lives
8. Spending more time in prayer and connecting with God with less distractions

On the first day of my social media fast, I read this quote below during my devotional time. It's so funny how God puts things in our path right when you need to hear it most. This quote just rang so true for me. Where am I investing my time? Am I protecting what's really important? Can I learn to prioritize and say no when needed? What's really valuable in my life? It's funny how a week away from social media can teach so many lessons. These lessons are so valuable and I intend on bringing what I learned this week with me moving forward.

"One of the most irreplaceable, valuable things we possess is our time. We cannot go out and buy more time, and yet time it is one of the things we squander most easily. We waste time; we spend time doing things that zap our energy. There's nothing wrong with giving someone or something your time, but I have often been sucked into commitments I should have avoided by thinking - well, it's only a few hours of my time. I forget time is a pearl of great price. My stuff is not holy. My possessions are not my pearls. But the hours I have each day -- these are precious. As my children get older, I realize I do not get these days to do over. When people or things try to demand those pearls from me, sometimes the best thing I can do is refuse. In order to protect the things that mean the most to me, I sometimes have to say no."

Always In A Rush

I don't know about you, but this year has flown by for me. Less than 3 months until 2015...that's crazy! It seems like the days are long, but the years are short. My husband recently reminded me of how important it is to cherish our time and each moment that we are living in instead of rushing from one to the next. It really got me thinking about how I don't always take the time to stop and appreciate where I'm at. I'm always going, going, going and pushing on to the next big thing. When did I stop being satisfied with where I am? When did I stop taking in the day-to-day moments that make up my life? Why am I not cherishing my time instead of wishing it to pass more quickly? These questions fill my mind this morning.

Last week was a particularly rough week for me. A lot of unexpected things happened and I was stuck on the feeling-sorry-for-myself bus. One of those hardships was dealing with a co-worker's death. It was expected, but difficult nonetheless. I (thankfully) haven't had much experience with loved ones passing away and this particular co-worker was someone whom I loved. He was the sweetest man and his passing deeply affected everyone he knew. I went to his memorial service on Thursday evening already down in the dumps about the events of the week. Funny thing was that all my problems immediately seemed insignificant once I walked in the funeral home. Funerals have a way of bringing clarity to situations and reminding us of what's really important. I sat through the service and I felt the overwhelming reminder of how temporary life is and how our time here on earth is quickly fleeting, day-by-day and moment-by-moment.  It occurred to me that I wasn't always as thankful as I should be for the life I've been given. I was too busy rushing around, worrying and doing, to really enjoy living to the fullest. Almost everything in my daily life, all my troubles and quandaries, are so brief. I get so consumed and focused on the little things in my life that I don't appreciate my time as I should and I let it pass without taking it in, without cherishing.

I left the funeral suddenly extremely grateful for my situations and my time. God has given me time that others don't have any more. And I don't always spend it as I should. I rush instead of taking the time to slow down and look around. I wish away time instead of cherishing moments. I complain about imperfections in my life instead of appreciating the things are that going right. I'm already 26 years old, married, and expecting my first child. Time has flown! Most days I realize how much God has blessed me (because He has beyond my wildest dreams), but it's also easy to get caught up rushing through this time period instead of appreciating exactly where I am. At the end of my life, most of the things that consume my mind on a daily basis aren't that important. The things I will remember most will be the moments where I took the time to slow down, put things in perspective, and allowed myself to fully enjoy that moment in time. I don't want to get to the end of this life and finally realize how blessed I was, I want it to be a daily realization. I don't want my vision to get clouded each day by trials and time. I want to see clearly.

So yeah, last week was pretty rough. And yes, it's easy to want to rush through this time period to get to the next (especially when you have a baby on the way!). It's easy to not cherish each moment as it happens, but that's where the joy is. And I want to experience that joy. None of us know exactly how long we have left on this earth, so let's make the most of each day we have been given instead of wishing it was tomorrow. Time doesn't have to be a bad thing, in fact, it can be beautiful.