SUCCESS......MOTIVATION.....MINDSET. These words are being thrown at us left right and centre nowadays and I've even used them myself in several of my posts and blogs.
There is a craze going round at the minute across social media, that's whipping everyone up into a frenzy, and that is one of becoming an influencer! You see people all over Instagram, Facebook etc chasing their dreams, travelling to far off lands spreading word of positivity and telling people that you can be anything you want to be as long as you work hard enough for it.
Is this true?.....of course it is!
But what happens when you try to become everything to everyone all at once?
For some time now I've been following, up and coming dressage star Oliva Towers on her social platforms. Through my phone screen I've watched the ups, the downs and the blood sweat and tears this young entrepreneur has put into everything she's achieved with her horses, her teaching and her media platforms, to become arguably the BEST influencer of equestrianism in this country. She has inspired many, including myself to take to blogging and share their own journeys with their horses.
Who wouldn't be inspired....Her social media following has grown rapidly into the tens of thousands, she's been getting spotted out at events which pricked up the ears of potential sponsors and even the likes of national events (HOYS) and governing bodies (FEI) have invited her to do pieces for them. That's the dream right? That's the perfect life?
This week Olivia's most recent video came out and I settled down with a cup of tea and some biscuits (ok a whole packet haha) to see the most recent antics of this fabulous young lady in the hope of gaining some shards of wisdom and motivation to keep me going till the next one.
Wisdom I wanted and wisdom I got!! What I love most about Olivia's vlogs is that she is open and honest about everything, what she's doing, how she's feeling etc. However to sit and watch this woman feel like she had to explain to the world that she was exhausted through the pressures of becoming an influencer, really made me wonder how many others are out there throwing material at this new social craze and burning themselves out in the process.
I'm no big name in the blogging world but my page 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Pie' has gained followers from all over the world, and although I think I'm nothing but a regular girl with a short stumpy gypsy cob and a whack job appaloosa, speaking on about some random crap from time to time, I have been inundated with comments and messages from people calling me an inspiration and thanking me for helping make their day a little brighter. Its such an amazing feeling to receive words like this, and in the beginning I thought Wow this is what I want to do with my life. I want to grow a massive following and produce all these videos etc and perhaps one day I'll make it big!
I threw myself into creating enough content to produce a TV show and started coming up with new and unusual ideas to get me noticed. What I didn't realise at the time was, that I was allowing the idea of becoming a big name take over and it was actually affecting every aspect of my life.
I wouldn't go out to dinner with family and if I did I was rarely getting involved with conversation because I was staring at a screen typing posts. Everything I did with the horses became a photo shoot or a video session to get the best materials for vlogs. I became obsessed with trying to generate more followers or replying to every comment people made. And while all this is very entertaining.....it gets to a point where you stop living!
I either had to quit this habit before it had a chance to consume me, or I had to develop a form of balance between life and media. I took a month or so out of consistent posting and only shared things I wanted from time to time rather than every waking moment of the day. What I have found in doing this is that the people who were following me before are still there cheering us on and yet I have this relief that I no longer have to impress anyone else. I can just be me and enjoy the journey that I'm taking through life.
I hope anyone here reading this, whether you run your own blogs or just have your personal social media accounts, really sits back and thinks about how much time you are spending staring at a screen into the lives of other people, rather than going out and enjoying YOUR LIFE and YOUR TIME on this planet. Sure social media and the internet is a fantastic asset in this modern age, but don't allow it to control you and restrict you from living a traditional life.
So go turn of your phone, laptop or whatever it is your using right now and get out and feel the wind in your hair, sun on your face or the rain on your skin and appreciate the REAL WORLD in all its glory.
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