How Healthy is Your Selfie?
In some capacity we have to concede to our vanity, but to what extent is it healthy?
The 21st century has fashioned the “selfie”, now deemed a psychological condition. A self confidence boost that seemingly can only be produced by taking 300 pictures of one’s self and posting only one. The constant reviewing of notifications on Facebook and how many likes did I get on Instagram (IG). You’ve done it, at least once right?
We’re all guilty of it that burning desire to feel noticed and liked.
When it comes to fitness and exercise we’re flooded with the “perfect” #body, hashtags of #fitfam #fitspo and #booty. No wonder we have the selfie complex and our image of fitness, yoga and the gym are jaded. Have you ever taken a picture of yourself flexing an arm or your stomach? I know I have…Here’s my reality behind the selfie and fitness: My Instagram is flooded with fitness videos and pictures. Hashtags coming out my comments end. Do I like doing this? Does it provide me validation? To some extent of course it does. The sad reality is, in the fitness world if you don’t do this you have no brand awareness. If you have no followers, you have no purpose. So how do we get around the constant need to reassure ourselves, for business and for personal growth? Back to Basics is how! And... Be mindful of what you post!
Our basic morals and fundamentals need to ground us, no matter what “hat” we’re wearing.
We must be true to what we permit, as that is exactly what we promote. The thoughts, feelings and emotions we tie to people, places and things guide us. The best part is, we have the ability to control them! So how do we control these associations?
We must first understand why we have the responses we do, then change them through focused associations.
When you think of the gym or exercise, what do you associate with it? Was there a time that sticks out in your head? Perhaps a person made you feel a certain way. Or you compare yourself to the selfies on IG. Do you feel confident in knowing what to do at the gym? Perhaps you’re experienced, but in a rut. What all these experiences have in common is their ability to implant an emotional association to that experience now called “the gym” or “exercise”. Even a rut for more avid exercisers can cause anxiety and even depression, as we’re no longer progressing. When we fail to see change, we must change our approach.
After 20 years of training physically and mentally I continue to manage my expectations and associations.
I recommend a mindful approach. Become fully aware of the emotions that you are experiencing the next time you want to take that selfie. How are you feeling when you see that gym advertisement? Acknowledge the emotion, appreciate the feeling and remind yourself why you feel the way you do. If you want to change that feeling, find something positive to associate it with. Maybe try a few of these: gym = your escape from the daily grind. Put in your headphones and just feel the music. If you don’t know how to do the things, the best thing to do is learn from someone you trust. The selfie of the perfect body = know they are not perfect. They’ve probably also taken 300 pictures and applied 20 filters.
