I have been feeling really discouraged, lately. I think it’s natural, in any profession, to sometimes feel inadequate. And to feel like there are others who are doing considerably better than yourself. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way, and it certainly isn’t the last. When I get discouraged, though, it’s easy to hate the learning process. The nature of social media sets us up to compare ourselves to those around us. I’m always getting so frustrated. Someone with less followers than me getting more likes on their photos. Someone else, gaining followers at a quicker rate than I am. Or someone who has a feed that is considerably more beautiful than mine. Our days are FILLED with comparing ourselves.
This is true in any area of life, I think. We’re quick to compare. We don’t really stop to think about the why behind these things, and only dwell on the inadequate feelings we’re left with. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the learning curve that comes with anything in life.
Here’s the thing about finding success. The journey and process of becoming successful is JUST as important as the potential success you could find. There are times when ALL of us just want to skip the journey, because it’s taking too long. But if you were to wake up tomorrow and your bank account was filled, would you have the money managing skills to be able to maintain your wealth? If you woke up and you’d lost the weight, would you be able to keep it off? If you woke up and had all of the followers you want, would you have the ability to keep them around? The answer to all of this is, usually, no.
And that’s why I’m trying to embrace the learning curve. Always growing, always becoming better. Always learning. The more you learn, the better you will be able to become.
In regards to the way this relates to social media, I’ve thought a lot about the influencers I know that have bought followers. It’s not something I personally condone, but I can understand why they do it. It would be nice to be able to skip the process, and just be “successful”. But then you miss out on everything else. You miss the time it takes to learn what it takes to take a good photo, how to edit it properly, and present it to your followers in a way that’s pleasing. You miss out on all of the connections you make, and friends you’ll make along the way. Really, you miss out on a lot. And at the end of the day, with bought followers, it’s just a number. And that number does NOT equate success.