One thing I have noticed in my exploration of mindfulness and calming my own personal stress, is the power of what I read online. So much of my free time I realize is consumed by screens – whether that’s doing homework on my laptop or paying an absurd amount of attention to my phone either talking to people or perusing social media or websites. Much of the social media focus of our cohort has been through the lens of our future students: how it affects them, how they are consumed by it, addicted to it, anxious without being able to touch their screens… I find I am also trapped in this world, and it’s exhausting. I’ve been noticing the impact of things like who I follow on Instagram – how does this affect my well-being? Is what I’m reading or watching or simply looking at positive for me? I’m rationally aware that what I see on apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are simply highlight reels of peoples’ lives, however does my emotional state and subconscious mind interpret it as that? Or am I constantly comparing my own life to theirs, my own happiness and well-being to what I see on social media?
I have recently started following profiles on Instagram that are full of empowering, motivating, and wellness quotes or references. I find when I open the app now, and start to scroll, mindful words are thrown at me, and it has been really positive. Maybe for different reasons each day a certain post will resonate with me, but overall, I find that it makes me aware of what I am doing, where I am at that point in time, how I am feeling, or what I am working toward. For me, reading these short quotes has been empowering – at least some of the time, and that has been a nice change.
 
 
