Why I’m taking a social media break.

Happy New year once again everyone.

how’s your 2019 going?

Hey wonderful people of the big wide blogosphere. It’s the 12th day of the brand new year and all I’m here wondering is, guys how are you doing so far? I remember a funny comment my friend made about wanting to just take a raincheck on the entire year and come back for 2020 instead. Is anyone else feeling like this? Lol, if only! My encouragement for you would be to keep going. You can decide to let the year happen to you or you stand, dig your feet in, take the year by the horns, stare it right in the face and tell it to bring on all it’s got!! You’ve got this because God’s got you and His promise to never ever leave you is so much bigger and better than any bully of a situation that tries to rear it’s head or tries to actually tackle you. So do not back down, stay standing and see the victory.

good news and stuff.

That said, it’s been a busy couple of weeks already. Your girl finally finished her Master Thesis and submitted and couldn’t be more thankful or relieved. It has been quite a journey, one I will talk about in another post, trust me you will want to read this. Along with that is work, and all the other amazing projects I have the honor of being a part of (updates soon). I can tell it is going to be one packed year already, and I am filled with gratitude for all the opportunities to do awesome stuff in the year, regarding work, church, placing value on young people and women and many more. God is so good guys.

Well, so knowing or at least having a general idea how busy the year is going to be, I figured that a good start would position me well to approach it right and to maximize it. This meant I had to take the steps necessary to ensure that this ‘good’ start was indeed happening. At the end of 2018, I did a review of my year; what had worked, what hadn’t, what I could do differently, what I could improve and what I should just get off my lazy chair and get to doing. I knew that knowing these would help me to take the next necessary steps. A good start can mean many things and often different things for different people.

One thing I am definitely doing is taking more time to rest, reflect and recover and to do this regularly, not wait till my tank is in the red as I have previously done.

unplugging.

Another major step I took or have taken, is to UNPLUG, and by this I mean to give myself a much- needed break from social media. I have an interesting (not exactly pleasant) history with social media. One could rightly have called me an addict back in the days. I was a heavy user, and spent over 5 hours a day on my phone. Several experiences (which I’ll talk about much later, lol) left a bad taste in my mouth regarding social media platforms like facebook, twitter and Instagram. I had a disdain for it and wanted almost nothing to do with them. But then I discovered PURPOSE and realized that I had been looking at it all wrong. Those social media platforms were a tool or device and in themselves neither good nor bad. Like a knife, the effect they had, whether good or bad, depended very much on who was holding it and what they were using it for. Being certain that I could add value with my social media instead of causing harm, I decided to reactivate some accounts and to use them in exactly this way. It has been amazing and it’s equally wonderful following people who inspire and encourage me in so many areas.

healthy vs. unhealthy.

However, despite knowing very well its use and importance. one can still find themselves scrolling for hours on end, hanging on likes and comments and quite committed to following up on what others are doing with their lives. While this in itself may not be directly harmful to health (I don’t have any figures,lol), so much time that I could have put into other things ends up just being squandered. Apart from this, other effects that do not make much of an announcement but rather slowly creep up on you also come to play. Comparison, showing- off, jealousy, depression, etc., are all some of the negative effects associated. The line is thin and from my previous experiences, I know how easy it is to tip over to THE OTHER SIDE but thankfully I have also learned how to stay on the healthier side of usage.

taking a break.

Thus, the way I have learned to not be a social media junkie and end up misusing it, is to take breaks off the platforms. Taking a break for a day is not much of a problem for me, longer breaks have however been more difficult for reasons connected to managing other non- personal accounts. But I decided to not let this be an excuse anymore. I can say however that I am on the 12th day and it feels great. I will probably write more about the entire process with lessons learned at the end of the absence period.

reconnecting.

Taking the time off is important to me for many reasons. At the start of the year, I have found it helpful to get my mind clear and to make room to set clear goals and take decisions which are not directly influenced by the views and lives of other people. In this time I also know that disconnecting alone is not enough, the ‘void’, if I can call it that, created will quickly be filled by all the wrong things if I am not proactive about it. Thus, knowing that, not only my mind, but my heart as well has to be in the right place, I find this a valuable period to plug fully into my source, God. This does not mean that in other months I will be only partially plugged, but this period now, helps me set the pace of how I would want to advance into the rest of the year in terms of my personal walk with God. Breaking away from all the distractions and pluggung full on to Him right at the start, is the kind of full tank I want to start this year’s journey with. Taking a break gives me the opportunity to decide how I can better use my social media platform to add value to others and the world in general and not just to promote myself or to seek approval. Also, I have more time to do certain things that have needed doing for a long time, that and so much more which will be shared later.
It is refreshing to say the least.

your turn.

Have you ever taken a long social media break? For what purpose did take it? How was it for you? I would love to know in the comments below.