I sit in front of the little screen and begin scrolling through my feed. This is where I used to find cute pictures of my friend’s kids or a vacation I would instantly be jealous of. Now I am bombarded with an endless list of things that will make me a better version of me.
I can make this my BEST YEAR YET, the headline screams. I only need to click and see all that I can do in six easy steps to make this year better than last year. Maybe I won’t feel so frazzled, I think. Or maybe I’ll get everywhere I need to be on time. Now wouldn’t that be a miracle. Surely, this is the answer. I click to see what it will take. If I keep scrolling I’ll see the diet that will fix it all. Actually it’s not really a diet. It’s the eating and exercise plan that will make my life amazing. I’ll lose weight and be happy and sleep well and be clear headed and I click to find the answers. Sign me up for another course/email/webinar. Anything that will help. The more I scroll the more I find. The meal service that will make my family magically sit at the table for 30 whole minutes smiling and talking about our day. The bra that will change the way I carry myself because my girls will be where they’re meant to be. And it will magically happen in a one size fits all stretchy piece of fabric because we’re all really the same and the fabric is in fact magic. The financial plan that will make all the difference. No more debt. No more credit cards. No more money fights. Plus I will be able to buy that dream house by the ocean. All for the bargain price of… And I’m tired. I’m worn out from being told how to be better, do more, and be less me. The truth is this isn’t about the Facebook feed at all. We’ve subscribed to the notion that improvement means overhauling who we are to become what someone else says we should be. There’s self-improvement and there’s losing yourself. Only you can prevent one from leading to the other. If you want the meal delivery service because it will truly help you, then give an enthusiastic YES and click to sign up. But if you want the meal delivery service because you’re trying to create a different version of your life that doesn’t even exist, it will never work. We live in an age where anything we want to know or learn or become is literally at our fingertips. But when all we are doing is trying to become, we miss out on who we already are. There is no perfect. There is no one size fits all formula, no matter what the magic bra says. And that’s good. Because we aren’t supposed to be the same. Is making changes and choices bad? Absolutely not. Constantly striving to be someone other than who we are is when we lose out. The world doesn’t need us all to fit in the same bra. The world needs us to all to be the best version of who we already are. Choose wisely, friend. As the New Year knocks on the door, think about who you are and be grateful. Think about the things that you honestly do want to improve and think about how to make that happen. But whatever you do, don’t forget that you are already amazing.
ParentCo.
Author