I’ve hit a strange point in my use of social media recently. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing but I am definitely using it less.
I don’t check Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram multiple times a day, and some days not at all, and as such I’m posting less and less too. In fact if anything I’m preferring Instagram these days.
Why? Because there is too much and I don’t have the energy to sift through it to find the good stuff.
Too many opinions, too many in-jokes, too many overlapping conversations I am not a part of, too much noise, too much hate, too much love, too much silliness, too much, too much, too much.
Obviously what I take from social media is down to me but I am finding that my tolerance for somethings has been dropping recently and, more often than feels healthy, I just get narked by all of it.
This is largely down a distinct lack of energy on my part. I’m eating healthily(ish) and walking more to get some level of exercise, but my current job is proving to be very mentally draining. Every day I feel exhausted, every day feels like a battle (and it’s not just me, the others in my direct team say the same). The advantages of contract life mean I leave my work in the office but, of course, that’s not how it really works. I may not have the laptop or my notebook but my brain still churns.
It’s not just social media either, I’m reading less – I don’t think I’ve finished a single book in the last couple of months, whilst I was averaging over 2 per month at the start of the year – and I’m not as productive with my ‘down’ time, with even the basic things like keeping my flat tidy (which I’ll admit is a bit of a ‘thing’ for me) has slipped.
And that’s why I’m more inclined to avoid social media. Without enough energy to gather my elephants* they steam in all angry and ranty and make a mess.
My get up and go seems to have got up and gone I’m not sure where, nor how to get it back, or even if I’m that bothered.
Maybe I’m actually just learning to detach and slow down, to stop worrying about “What’s next?” (guess who’s been re-watching the West Wing recently), and to appreciate just not doing very much at all. Maybe.
Wow, this is a long winded post to say ‘it’s not you, it’s me’, but isn’t it ever so.
* What is the rider and elephant metaphor? From behavioral psychology, a theory that suggests we have two sides: An emotional/automatic/irrational side (the elephant), and an analytical/controlled/rational side (its rider).
According to the model, the rider is rational and can plan ahead, while the elephant is irrational and driven by emotion and instinct. We have to find the balance between the two.