Motivation Monday – The Cost of Curating Your Life
“We publish what people want to see because we think the way it actually is isn’t enough. ”
Sure, I’ve danced in my kitchen. When I know no one is watching. Maybe it’s a response to the craziness of the world that shows no signs of putting itself back together, but there are a lot of you out there dancing and creating other crazy moments and publishing them to the world on Instagram, TikTok and reels. I wish I could do it! But I can’t.
I am curious if someone from a hundred years ago could see into the world we have created through social media and wonder what was holding us together.
In addition to the crazy, I also see a myriad of curated images depicting beauty and perfection…bodies, homes, families, vacations….that are reflecting to us what is unattainable, what we can only aspire to on our best days if at all, and what leaves us feeling like we’re missing something in our own lives.
And so in response we start curating our own lives to become part of a world that may not be real.
We publish what people want to see because we think the way it actually is isn’t enough.
If we weren’t living in fear of other people’s opinions of us, no one would have the power to take anything away.
We are so eager to share our opinions and publish our lives with strangers, that we put out there what we have failed to reflect on ourselves.
Maybe we are not taking the time at the front end to really consider what we are learning, how we are growing, whose voice we need to hear most in our life and whose opinion matters most.
When is the last time you answered the question, “How does God see me?” and then recorded the answers. If you were to lean into the wisdom in Psalm 139, you would be reminded that God fashioned every fiber of your being and declared you fearfully and wonderfully made. His thoughts are always towards you and He created you for meaning and purpose.
What is it costing you to constantly be curating your life for a world that may not even be interested in it? Over time we have begun to believe other people’s reactions and opinions before we have stopped to consider our own.
There is a cost to curating your life.
We are all still trying to figure out what we have lost in broadcasting our lives for everyone else’s consumption. Before we took the time to figure out what we wanted our own lives to add up to.
We are placing so much pressure on ourselves, on leaders, on people we look up to, to show up digitally in a world that loves you one day and hates you the next. I know I feel this pressure. Every day. To say something. Be someone.
I need more time than people often want to wait for, to ensure my message is real, full of hope and authentic.
The unexamined private life is not worth living. The curated public life isn’t either.
Maybe it’s time to be more intentional and focus your audience so your message will be heard by those who are really needing to hear it.
Find your voice. Speak your truth. Change the world. And do not be held in the power of others’ opinions of you. You have an audience of One. He created you to carry the message He has seeded in you. Steward it well. Develop it well. And when its time, your voice will carry revelation that has the power to transform, vs. conforming to, a waiting world.
I believe in you!
Cathie