It seems everywhere you turn on social media, you’re bombarded with business and social media advice, tips, strategies and claims that if you do “abc”, you’ll get “xyz”. What’s the end result when we consume all this information? Comparison-itis! It’s certainly a real thing. I’ve suffered from it, and from time to time I still do! So what to do about it? Clear your mind and all distractions. Let’s get real and honest on this topic and dig ourselves out from under all the noise. Grab your coffee and let’s go.

It seems everywhere you turn on social media, you’re bombarded with business and social media advice, tips, strategies and claims that if you do “abc”, you’ll get “xyz”.

What’s the end result when we consume all this information? Comparison-itis! It’s certainly a real thing. I’ve suffered from it, and from time to time I still do!

So what to do about it? Clear your mind and all distractions. Let’s get real and honest on this topic and dig ourselves out from under all the noise. Grab your coffee and let’s go.

And just so we’re clear…love Tom Hiddleston, love Loki in the movies! I am his #1 fan!

It seems everywhere you turn on social media, you’re bombarded with business and social media advice, tips, strategies and claims that if you do “abc”, you’ll get “xyz”. What’s the end result when we consume all this information? Comparison-itis! It’s certainly a real thing. I’ve suffered from it, and from time to time I still do! So what to do about it? Clear your mind and all distractions. Let’s get real and honest on this topic and dig ourselves out from under all the noise. Grab your coffee and let’s go.

Full transcription available at the bottom of this blog post

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Full Transcription:

Okay, let me paint a picture! You wake up in the morning. Make your coffee, do a little journaling or reading. Get the kids up and feed them breakfast. You might even start a load of laundry and then you open Instagram! You’re feelin pretty good because you have your post for the day ready to go! You even have your hashtags! You feel on top of the world and you can conquer whatever is thrown at you!

But you start the scroll. And what starts to happen? Oh look, a mentor of yours posted a really great mindset strategy. Oh, and this other mentor of yours posted a fantastic video. Oh look, a really pretty reel by an influencer and you notice it already has over 100 likes. Then you see someone within your own niche who just announced a fabulous freebie, and you think to yourself, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Then you start to notice how someone took a selfie, or how someone posted a pretty graphic. Oh look, a quote. Double tab! And now you’ve just wasted 30 minutes in the rabbit hole of Instagram and now you feel pretty shitty about your business.

You start to question yourself. My feed doesn’t look like hers! I don’t post as often as she does. Man, she’s so good at video, I really need to do more video! Maybe if I try to post similar content like her, I’ll get more followers. Oh I know, I need to act like her when I’m on video and people will then buy from me.

You look up from your phone, take a long sigh, and wonder if you’re really all that good.

Did I just paint a picture that you’ve experienced before. Maybe you experience this from time to time, or quite often.

Welcome to social media comparison-itis!

We are flooded day in and day out with content!

And what happens when we consume all that content? We turn into my favorite villain, Loki.

Now, a little backstory, if you don’t already know this about me, but I’m a total movie-geek and I geek out on superhero movies, especially Marvel…but you might be surprised to learn, that I secretly, okay, not so secretly, love the villain, LOKI!

He’s known to be a trickster! He’s really good at manipulations….he can transform himself into anything he wants and he’s really good at mimicking others. He is the GOD of Mischief. And at the end of the day, his transformations and mimics are a complete disaster!

Now, I love Loki in the movies, BUT using Loki’s techniques on social media just doesn’t work, especially in the long run.

It’s human nature to belong to a group, or to conform to social norms. We want to be liked by all. Right now I’m reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, and I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

There’s a section in the book about the role of family and friends in shaping your habits. And two things jumped out at me: Imitating the Many and Imitating the Powerful.

Wow! Aren’t we seeing that on social media, especially Instagram. So many of us try to imitate or mimic what’s popular because it seems to work and we imitate or mimic the powerful, the influencers like Gary V, James Wedmore, Amy Porterfield and Rachel Hollis.

They are great, successful entrepreneurs, but what happens when we consume all their content? Um, we try to mimic their way of showing up on social.

And when we try to do what they are doing, what happens at the end of the day?

It feels off. It doesn’t feel right!

Well, I’m gonna say it, don’t be like Loki, because when you imitate and mimic others, comparison-itis kicks in and it’s ugly! We feel we’re not enough. We feel our way of doing things is wrong!

Okay, so now what do we do about this!

I have 4 tips to share with you. Take em or leave em, it’s up to you!

  1. Limit your time on social and STOP consuming so much content. If you feel you’re comparing your life and business to someone else, especially a very successful entrepreneur, do me a favor and unfollow them! Yes, that’s right. Unfollow! It’s okay to learn and digest some content from others, but enough is enough, move on and unfollow. The minute that comparison game kicks in, unfollow! It’ll feel weird at first, because you really value that person’s work, but you need to focus on your work, not theirs!
  2. Move from a State of Inspiration to a State of Action (explain…go deeper with examples like, lists, freebies, binging podcasts, writing down strategies, but if you never implement you will always stay in a state of inspiration! What do you need to do to move the needle?)
  3. Why are you on social media in the first place? It’s all about your objectives, intentions and target audience! Use Instagram for example…..
  4. Define your 3 brand/content pillars…what do you want to be known for?
    1. When you concentrate on your brand pillars and creating content around it, you’ll stop consuming so much content…and creating!

Okay, do you feel better now? Are you ready to conquer social media with the right intentions and share your wisdom? I understand if you’re still spinning your wheels, so if you’re wanting more Instagram Clarity, grab a coaching call with me and I’ll help you clarify your brand, brand message, your pillars and content for Instagram. Go to bit.ly/igmethod

As always, stay sassy, sparkle and wear those dang sweatpants!

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