In the 2nd grade, my life was full of rainbows, unicorns, and literally everything purple! Purple was my favorite color and the more unicorns I had in my life the happier I was! I had a lot of friends, school was fun, smiling was my favorite and things seemed to be right as rain.
However, that did not mean that I didn’t have struggles. Without going into the way back machine, I want to lay down a cold hard fact that was true then and it’s true now for each one of us…NO ONE has a perfect life, NO ONE has it all together and no matter how things look on the outside, we are all human and we all have been on and off the struggle bus of life. That is the REAL world, my friends!
The problem is that many people think that a smiling face, an overly positive vibe, an outgoing personality, a successful family, business, or whatever it may mean that they’ve somehow “arrived” and figured out the game of life. I am here to tell you, THAT my friends is BS!
Social media has created a platform that is both a blessing and a curse. We have a fabulous way to connect with long-lost friends, family, and loved ones. We get to share our favorite moments, big celebrations, tropical vacations, new sportscar, parties with friends, new babies, cute puppies, etc.!!
However, that type of posting is only showcasing the “highlight reel” of life. All these magical moments are filling up your newsfeed and causing feelings of overwhelm, lack, jealousy, fear, anger, feeling left out, lonely, and an inability to keep up with the non-existent Jones! If you are not careful you will get sucked into feeling like your life is one click away from becoming a giant dumpster fire!
It’s important to remember that what you are witnessing on social media is only a small fraction of people’s lives. Life is not always as it appears and those that you think have it “ALL” may be the very ones that need the most support.
I recently met with a group of old friends, via Zoom for a fun virtual reunion. We started to bring each other up to speed on the past few decades of what’s REALLY been going on! You know, the ups, the downs, the kids, the grandkids (Omg- we are old enough to have grandkids? How did that happen?), health issues and midlife woes, when one of them said, “Oh Jenny, I already know what you are doing because you are on Facebook.” Then, she rolled on by me.
That hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything negative by it yet, I realized at that moment that THIS is how most people are viewing others, through the lens of social media vs through the lens of the actual real world.
WOWZA. Actually, she really did NOT know what I’d been doing. She only knew my highlight reel.
Please stop right here and ask yourself how many times you have scrolled across someone and assumed you knew their life was full of ONLY rainbows and unicorns, just based on their post?
If you go back and review my past several years you would see that I intentionally choose to put out inspirational, positive messages, quotes, and photos. I am a certified Life and Empowerment Coach so, naturally, I am all about empowering and inspiring others so, you won’t find a lot of controversial topics, deep personal shares around hurts in my life, or how I am really feeling some days.
Rather, I choose to use social media to build relationships, create community, and truly bring people together. So, what my family, friends, and community are viewing is my highlight reel most of the time.
This is the missing link, friends! There’s is so much more to our stories than just the “best of the best” posts you are seeing 24/7.
My mission is to bring people up so that they can live their BEST life! You can only do that through the choices YOU choose to make.
I’m creeping up on the big 5-0 in a few short years and I am choosing to LIVE MY BEST LIFE which includes ALL the rainbows, unicorns, and magic carpet rides!
That absolutely 1000% does NOT mean I won’t have struggles, heartaches, sadness, overwhelm, or bad days. What it DOES mean is that I get to CHOOSE how I show up for myself every single day.
P.S.- YOU DO TOO!
7 Things to remember when you fall off your rainbow and unicorn…
- You are ONLY in charge of YOU! Stay in your own lane!
- Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business!
- You get to be the one-of-a-kind UNICORN in your life! The world needs YOU to be YOU! Everyone else is already taken!
- Stop comparing! Comparing your life to the highlight reel of someone else’s life is like comparing apples to rocket ships! They are 2 completely different things!
- Build in person relationships and embrace the opportunity to get to know the real-world person vs the one sliver (aka highlight reel) of what you think you know about them!
- What you focus on is what you bring into your life! Choose wisely!
- Those that “seem” like they are living on a magic carpet ride may be the ones struggling the most. Don’t assume their social media life is all that and a bag of chips. Check in on these folks!
Bottom-line friends, you get to live a life of rainbows, unicorns and take that magic carpet ride when you decide to live YOUR life and not someone else’s!
If you would like support creating your best life and finding your rainbows and unicorns, please contact me!
Coach Jen’s Challenge:
- Choose one person on your social media friends list that you believe is living a life of rainbows and unicorns and reach out! Set up a phone call/Zoom or meet up for coffee and be open to listening. They may be the person who really needs extra support.
- List3-5 qualities you possess or want to possess on BOTH social media AND in the real world that showcase YOU! What is 1 step you can take that will help you embody them more, or start bringing more of them into your life?
- Make an empowering choice to see life through the real-world lens before making assumptions and/or comparing your life to someone else’s highlight reel. Those are their rainbows and unicorns, not yours!