Social media, self-esteem, and self-love
Thanks to the microblogging sites, information sharing has never been so easier. Still, there are studies that suggest that the high use of social media can have a negative impact on our self-esteem. It’s mostly true- because we take our greatest flaws and compare them to someone else’s greatest success. Despite all these social media is something that we cannot live without. So, how do we strike the balance to protect our own mental peace?
Here’s an amalgamation of some thoughts that help me stay sane:
- There will always be people who will try to capitalize on your insecurities.
2. So many of us spend years and years of just hating ourselves- our bodies just because it couldn’t fit into the world’s pre-defined standards of beauty. Thanks to Patriarchy, not just women, even men have been ridiculed for things that are beyond their control. Life is too short to self-doubt and limit your own capabilities.
My case: When I used to look into the mirror- used to see Size L thighs on a size M body, all the damage that I had caused to my hair using heating appliances and treatments- just to fit into their standards of beauty, acne scars, and zits that remind me of my past. Years later, when I see myself in the mirror- I just love and accept the person that I have become today.
3. When I love what I see in the mirror, it helps me to live beyond my mere existence. I, no longer, seek validation because I don’t owe myself for submission or consumption.
4. Helps me build the room for my thoughts- I can grow, read, write, explore, celebrate, express. I can even make mistakes and still forgive myself. I allow myself to heal.
5. As I make peace with my imperfections, It gives me the courage to love the flawed human, I see in the mirror.
6. If I am allowed to live imperfectly, so is everyone else. Mere physical beauty doesn’t fascinate me anymore. It breaks us from the shackles of fitting into someone else’s idea of living or beauty.
7. When I come into terms of being my own self, yet exist beautifully- the world expands and I perceive things differently.
8. When some things are above my control, I don’t feel the obligation to be in charge of everything, I let go of the things that don’t matter. I can focus on the things that matter and need more attention.
9. Self-esteem helps us build self-confidence, that enables action. You channelize your energy to change things that actually matter.
10. This empowers me to pick my own battles wisely- be the change, I actually want to see. I hold myself more accountable, try to act more responsibly.
