Stay in your Lane

In a digital-driven society, we find ourselves using a great amount of time surfing the web and social media. With social media highly evolving, it has become a very integral part of our lives that can sometimes lead us to various expressions of self-validation. There is a high trend of social media engagement in regards to positive and or negative posts on them. Sometimes those posts give us a false reality of a person’s life just because they have “highlighted” an accomplishment of their life. So what happens when we start seeing those posts?

For example, Layla landed an internship with a top law firm in the country, 2.k likes. Ebony secured a full-time job before her final semester of undergrad, 3.5k likes. Raquel from high school is married and just bought her dream home with a baby on the way, 5k likes. After reading the posts and viewing the pictures, you may like, comment, retweet, or even share their post. But what happens after that? One of the most natural things may occur because you’re human… and that is formulating comparisons. You’ll find yourself comparing your accomplishments or even downfalls to Layla’s, Ebony’s, Raquel’s and etc. accomplishments. Theodore Roosevelt once said that comparison is the thief of joy and he was right.

Now comparison can be good at times and even used as a way of motivation, but it will still affect your joy. Whether you’re comparing your accomplishments to someone else’s downfalls, that feeling of joy could fade away because you are reminded of someone else’s success. Don’t fret, it is a perfectly normal thing but it is not healthy, yet it is avoidable. At the end of the day, your race is your race.

Everyone does not have the same tools and obstacles to achieve and navigate through certain things as the next person. One of the main hacks of social media is to showcase your most positive attributes to showcase this “perfect” persona. No, I’m not saying it is a problem to promote and advertise your success, because I  am guilty of it too. I’m saying just because you see someone promote their good news doesn’t mean it is validating your own news and journey. You never know what a person had to endure to get certain things or achieve certain accomplishments. Just like everyone doesn’t know what you have to endure to achieve your accomplishments. Your race is your race. Your accomplishments are your accomplishments. Continue to like, comment, retweet, and share other people’s accomplishments as well as posting yours. Be secure in yourself, your work, and your accomplishments. There’s no need to compare your accomplishments, downfalls, or life in general to anyone, especially based off of their social media. Stay in your lane and run your own race beloved.