My wife and I watched “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix the other night. I usually don’t watch something and begin recommending it to everyone I know, but I did with this one. This documentary shed some light on the truth of the monster we have created in social media and what we need to do in order to raise our awareness and combat it.
If you have kids, have kids that are addicted to their phones, have social media yourself, whatever it may be, it’s worth the watch.
Anyway, the main premise of the documentary was that social media has become a place for fake news and false information to gain traction and influence our minds. This is heavily related to the division we feel in our country.
But as I was watching the documentary, my fitness mind came to the forefront. I began to look at what they were saying through a health and fitness lens.
Sure, social media has clearly allowed more hate, division, and fake news to spread rapidly, causing us to lose our grip on the reality of our world we’re actually living in.
But I would also argue that social media has clearly allowed more self loathing to spread rapidly, causing us to destroy ourselves from the inside out.
Young impressionable girls are subconsciously being taught that their self-worth comes from pleasing men and using their body to do so. They begin to use and expose their bodies for likes and views. And if they don’t get those likes and views, they fall into the trap of believing that their body is not good enough, therefor THEY are not good enough.
They begin this vicious cycle of comparison, self-hate through diet and exercise, and then comparison again.
“My breasts aren’t big enough.”
“My butt isn’t shaped like hers.”
“Her waist is so much smaller than mine.”
I’m not a father, nor do I have any relatives that are young girls. But as I sit and write this, I feel so, so sad. My heart sinks with grief and sorrow for young girls out there.
As they critique themselves, they begin working to change in order to be more like another person and less like themselves. They start going to the gym to have a butt like so and so person. They start saving up money for botox so they can have lips like so and so person.
It is so heart wrenching.
The same goes for young boys.
“Girls will only like me if I have abs like he does.”
“Girls seem to like his earring. Maybe if I get one like that I’ll finally get the girls to like me.”
“My arms are so small, I want my arms to be like his.”
So they begin lifting, taking unnecessary supplements, and possibly even begin exploring steroids to look less like themselves and more like the other person.
This is all subconscious, of course. They aren’t telling themselves this directly. But don’t be mistaken, this is exactly what they are thinking even if they don’t know it.
And the issue doesn’t only lie in the mind of young boys and girls. It is present in all of our lives. I’ll be the first to admit that I fall into this trap.
“He is playing professional baseball, he is far more successful than me.”
“He gets to pitch in front of thousands of fans and live his dream. I guess I’m just not good enough for that.”
I’m aware that these thoughts come into my mind.
I’m willing to bet that you have some toxic thoughts, too.
Look, I had a direction when I began writing this, but right now in this moment I feel my hear aching for myself, for you, and for all the other people out there comparing themselves.
I’m just going to continue to write what my heart is calling me to write.
We mustn’t give into this toxic trap of comparison.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with improving yourself. Where the wrong lies is in the intention of why you want to improve yourself.
Are you aiming to improve yourself in order to be more like someone else you saw on your screen? If so, I have news for you. You will never be that person on the screen because you are NOT that person on the screen. You are YOU.
So instead, focus on improving yourself in order be the best version of YOU.
I fully believe that we were created with unique talents and gifts that were intended to be used in order to make our lives and other people’s lives better. So why not work on improving yourself in order to refine those talents and gifts so that this world can be a better place?
Being healthier and having more energy throughout the day will allow you to create better culture in your workplace. Being more fit may allow you to be more present with your children when they want to have play time with mommy or daddy. Being stronger in the gym will allow you to better learn how to mentally and physically overcome adversity in your life and your household. Being more mobile will keep you from injuries, allowing you to be more adventurous with your spouse.
I know that this is cheesy, but this world literally only has one of you, and this world is so much better off with you in it, living to your full potential.
There is no sense in working to be more like someone else. The world already has one of them.
It makes all the sense in the world to become the best, healthiest, fittest version of yourself because dammit, this world NEEDS you.
You were created with love and a purpose in mind. Don’t you dare undervalue that by comparing yourself to someone else.
That’s my heart today. Take it for what it’s worth.
Much love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.
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