Highlight Reel

Instagram can be an amazing thing, and it can also be a black hole that sucks you in and then sometimes the next thing you know you're deep in comparisons, it's an hour later and your brain is foggy (at least for me anyways). It's necessary to pull yourself out and back into the real world, to take breaks, to breathe the real air you're surrounded by and really feel the earth and see the sky.

Our feeds are incomplete, and I'm guilty of it too; posting pretty pictures of me doing yoga, traveling, hiking, and while all of this is so awesome and real, its incomplete. What is not pictured are the bug bites from camping, the blisters, swollen feet, the unbearable heat you're trying to sleep through, the consistent pain/discomfort that reappears in my knee from surgery, the mental struggles I'm wrestling with daily, the self doubt, and questioning of my purpose. While the good stuff is real, all of that comes with it and is real too.

These struggles aren't bad, they are necessary, they create growth and opportunity, they make us human.

I'm not saying Instagram is bad, but just incomplete, which is something to be mindful of while scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. So sometimes, just stop scrolling. Just stop. And breathe.

Recognize the post as art, as someone's work/business, remember it is often a representative of their best moments. Remember that they may be laying in bed at that moment, shoving their face with ice cream or watching Netflix, or even doubting themselves too. We are all human. Don't get sucked into the highlight reel.