Compete, but only with yourself.

There’s a whole new world out there. It’s filled with glistening oceans, glowing skin, sun rays, heavenly creatures and the finest of food. A place where worries don’t exist, where money grows on trees and where work is not needed. It’s accessible to everyone, yet only a certain handful know how to play in its green grasses successfully. We’ve all been there, we’ve all seen it, all experienced a taste of its luscious offering. You probably walked along its sandy beaches today without even realising. It was most likely the first place you checked in. It’s so close to the hearts of reality yet so far from being real. This place, this magical world of fantasy has a name we’ve all heard of. Welcome to the world of Social Media.

Ok, so I might of exaggerated a little bit. We weren’t really walking across sandy beaches this morning. Well, you might have been and if so, lucky you! But social media allows us to feel that we are. It allows us to connect with every corner of the world and see sights we never thought possible. It also opens up a whole new door of comparison and a dangerous one at that.

Gorgeous girls with huge smiles, gleaming teeth and radiant skin, living in beach huts and sipping cocktails all day with no worry of gaining weight yet maintaining that to-die-for bod. Muscular hunks, again with huge smiles, gleaming teeth and radiant skin, living in beach huts and… you get the picture. Yes, these people do exist and yes, they probably do have rather nice lives and are pretty goddam hot, but not everything is as it seems. Social media gives everybody and anybody the chance to make their life seem a little more sparkly than it really is. When social media is involved, who needs work? Who needs to take a million selfies to get that perfect snap? It’s a portrayal of all the best bits- with a nice big filter for extra enhancement. There’s no BTS (think wobbling around on a chair to get the money shot of that delicious meal or the make-up session before the I-woke-up-like-this picture) and definitely no snaps of the bad times. It can have us questioning what we’re doing wrong and how we can have a big chunky slice of the good stuff- all day every day.

What I’m trying to say is, that we shouldn’t be made to feel insecure or any less because our lives aren’t as ‘perfect’ as these social media kings and queens. Chances are, they’ve had a pretty bad day and have looked way back in their photo streams to find that beach day pic. Does #TBT ring any bells?

Don’t get me wrong, I think social media is fab. We can interact with people like never before, network, secure jobs and build careers, be inspired and share ideas. It really is amazing, yet you need to know how to use it smartly. How to not get so involved that you live in its exaggerated walls. How not to compare and how not fall into the trap of competing with an unrealistic portrayal of life. What we do need to concentrate on is doing us. 

I’ll let you in on a secret. Once you learn to compete only with yourself, you will love yourself and others for it so much more. It’s the best kind of feeling and with enough work and self-competition, you’ll be living your big slice of heaven in no time.