Social Media Challenge–6 things learned taking 4 months off of Social Media
- Contentment- We firmly believe living in a mindset of comparison steals our contentment. So that is why we must remind ourselves to find JOY in where we are at in life. Grace and I also discussed how we found ourselves not wanting to purchase as much since we would see less advertisements ( Matt 6:32-33).
- Clarity-Less distractions led to a clearer mind. Spent more time to reflect on what we have( contentment) but also prayer and acknowledging God more throughout our day (Luke 5:16).
- Get out In Nature- We were not designed to be on screens all day. The ability to recharge is essential for our mind, body and soul. This allows us to connect with God’s creation, which He intentionally made for us to humbly be in awe of His mighty works (Ps 111).
- Intentionality-Learning to slow down and appreciate the people in our lives. Took more time to listen and appreciate the people in our lives, which even Grace and I took more time to reach out to each other on a weekly basis (1 Thess 5:11).
- Time Is A Resource: Time is a gift that we need to steward better. Make sure to learn how to set boundaries and prioritize the right things. By taking a break from social media, this freed up our time to invest and pursue the things we loved, instead of mindlessly scrolling (Luke 16:10).
- Creativity-As a bonus of a clear mind,essentially felt like decluttering all the garbage we would see and instead take more time to read, paint and essentially felt more inspired to create! Resurgence of ideas came when our minds felt at peace (Phil 4:7).
So if the break was so good–why did we come back?
As accountability partners, Grace and I had to define our mission on the WHY we would use social media. Over the course of those 4 months, we learned that social media is a TOOL that when used properly has powerful implications. We have always shared a desire to grow in our knowledge of health and exercise, so why not share these resources and encourage these conversations with other women? The time off social media allowed me to reflect on and reignite my desire to promote these hard conversations around eating disorders and share my story of binge eating. The title, Shame Free Bites reflects this mindset shift doesn’t happen overnight, it takes bite size changes. For my journey, it literally did consist of eating one bite at a time to enjoy food and be shame free. So I hope we answered the “why” social media will be the platform used for ShameFreeBites: To share our stories and encourage women to address eating disorders, intuitive eating and exercise.
How will we balance Social Media better?–Having two of us run as a team, allows us to balance the workload. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, we are having fun creating content, reading/educating ourselves and hoping that others will benefit. Plus, social media is a great way for a “monkey’s see, monkey do” pattern ( just to clarify, we know you are not a monkey!). It’s just a basic fact about human nature, when we see others eating yummy things, we want to eat yummy things too. We hope that our platform will encourage you to eat healthier meals that are simple to recreate as well as great resources regarding health and wellness to implement on a daily basis.
