You and the digital you

Social media gives us the unprecedented opportunity to act like mini celebrities.

As we display the best version of our lives online, we may miss the opportunity for introspection.  It’s easy to obsess over how we feel we are viewed by others, and ignore looking closely at how we view ourselves.

I’m not preaching.  I share my accomplishments and highlights online.  But remember, you can have appropriate concern for your image (including digital), AND work on improving the real you.  It doesn’t have to be either/or.

We are all unusual

Social conditioning and culture influences what we think of as normal, and we use the word normal as a substitute for “typical” (i.e., what most people do).

The most normal person you know is actually a complete weirdo that you just haven’t gotten to know well.  And that’s a beautiful thing.  No one ever brought anything new or useful into the world by striving to fit in.

Whatever your brand of weirdness, proudly be the best version of it.  Some of us are inspired by you, and are cheering you on.  The ones who aren’t may not be worthy of your time.

Vitamin S

Study after study shows the benefits of getting enough sleep, and the serious side-effects of a lack thereof.  It’s easy to trade sleep for the short-term value of accomplishing more.

Perhaps if we viewed sleep like a vitamin or holistic medicine that continuously healed our bodies, emotional states, and focus, we’d reconsider our priorities.

This is actually a truer-than-it-seems analogy.  And statistically, everyone reading this is deficient vitamin S deficient.