My husband played football from a young boy through college as well as a short stint in arena football before becoming an educator. I’ve been begging him to get his highlights transferred to a digital format because they are still in a box full of VHS tapes! (I know, right! Lol) His highlight tapes are a collection of short video snippets that showcase all the great plays he had on the field. However, they don’t capture the years worth of sweat, training, workouts, bruises, and injuries that happened behind the scenes.
I think Pastor Christopher J. Harris said it best when he said, “Don’t compare your behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel.” These days, most folks display their “highlight reels” on social media by cropping out the flaws of images and bloopers from videos. As a result, many of us see what looks to be a perfect person, couple, event, etc., but we have no idea what is happening behind the scenes. It’s sort of like the headshot on Zoom videos that limit the shot to only capture the cute blouse and nicely applied makeup, but others can’t see the mess outside of the span of the camera. (Uh huh, you know you've done it! Lol)
It’s dangerous to compare yourself to the “Facebook facades” and other social media platforms because -- you know as well as I do -- things are not always what they seem. Take a closer look at the picture in this blog and tell me...where's the lie? lol :-)
I challenge you to snooze your social media for a bit and use that time to reflect on your own sense of identity. If you’re not careful, you can begin to form your identity based on what you’re seeing, so be intentional in your efforts NOT to do that.
YOU decide who you are, not social media and other peoples’ opinions! Your journey to wealth (personal wholeness) should allow you to live in a space of authenticity to be exactly who you are -- flaws and all! In the book Daring Greatly by Dr. Brene' Brown, she discusses the notion of allowing yourself to be authentic (real) and vulnerable (live openly with the possibility of criticism) enough to SHOW UP and BE SEEN. Be proud of your journey, go at your own pace, and don’t hide behind your flaws; no one is perfect. After all, your flaws are what make you a masterpiece and you were made to live richly every day.
that's so true. Be proud of the flaws just as well as the good times and moments. definitely agree