Saturday, 27 January 2018

Battling Demons & Comparing Yourself

Social media is addictive. I spend most of my waking hours on it, scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Watching people's seemingly perfect lives fly past me. Bikini bodies that look almost air brushed, high end dresses being worn whilst standing on balconies looking out at the most amazing sky lines. From the outside looking in, it can look like these people have the most perfect lives. 

A photograph is a snapshot in time. It doesn't give background. It doesn't show the camera, the lighting, the 3 hour drive to reach the photoshoot location, the 5am wake up time to make sure your makeup is flawless and the lighting on the day is just right. It doesn't show the 300 other shots that you took that were blurry, badly cropped or just missing the top of your head. It doesn't show the £400 a day bill you're paying your photographer, the make shift changing room round the corner that also doubles up as your car. All of these things are less than glamorous and are usually involved in the professional imagery you see on peoples feeds nowadays. Taking good photographs that appeal to the likes of you and me, scrolling through Instagram and Twitter feeds, isn't as easy as it might look. 

Even though I've managed to nail the photograph side of things for the most part, I'm always questioning myself. Asking why I'm not a hugely successful blogger after years of having a blog and not really reaching many of my personal goals I've set myself. I think one of the reasons I've not quite "made it" yet is circumstantial; I work in a very stressful job Monday to Friday and it's not always easy to find the motivation to come home of an evening and write til the early hours of the morning. What I've tried to do, instead of punishing myself for not putting more into my Instagram and Blog, is make the small amount of time I do have go as far as possible. I keep my Saturdays pretty much completely free and I immerse myself into creating engaging and artistic content that I'm proud of. 

When I'm feeling down, and I start comparing myself to other people who I feel are more successful as me, I remind myself:

- Everything's Relative -
You don't know the struggles of others and you may never know. Don't assume someones life is perfect just because they have what you deem to be the "perfect body" or the "perfect life"

- If You Want It, Go Get It -
Ultimately, you're the only one holding you back. If you want to be successful, there's no reason why you can't be. Make the effort. Put the hours in. No-one else is going to do it for you. 

- Don't Compare, Instead be Inspired - 
If you come across someone in your life that you are tempted to compare yourself to, try and let them inspire you instead. Feel free to reach out, ask them questions about how they got to where they did. People are innately helpful, especially in the blogging and social media industry so don't be shy. 

I love social media. I really do. For the most part it inspires me and makes me want to do better. The influencers out there that I look up to are all hugely successful and for good reason; they work extremely hard and are talented in what they do. That being said, on a really down day, it can be hard to look at their accounts. On these down days try and remember that everyone's goals are different and individuality is key. Take inspiration from other people and create something that's your own. 

Dress - Cari's Closet - HERE
Boots - River Island - similar HERE

© Sophy Victoria | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Crafted by pipdig