No social media for 6 months; here are five things I learned about success, self-worth, and self-care!
- Anita Amon
- Apr 4
- 6 min read
I deleted social media for 6 months - it changed my relationship with time, self-worth, and what society conditioned me to believe success is.
I'm no stranger to long detoxes from my phone.
If I weren't so passionate and purpose-driven towards my work and helping people transform their lives, I would throw my phone out the f*cking window and live on a remote island somewhere.
But the truth is, my passions speak louder than my desire to be in hermit mode.
I used to do intentional pauses every month, during the last weekend of the month, when I would turn off my phone for 3-5 days (depending on my schedule), go into nature, or have a mindful staycation.
But as I've gotten busier, my time to disconnect and recharge got smaller.
I've realized this is true for all of us. We often get so busy we forget to turn inward and connect with ourselves.
The decision to delete social media from my phone began when I went back to school to finish my Master's in Psychology.
I got to a point where I was burnt out for six months and spent another six months trying to fight the truth that reaching every single goal at once, like getting my Master's and teaching, wasn't serving me.
So, I had to surrender. I NEEDED to turn everything off and go back to the basics.
Coming back into the land of matrix living, I wanted to sit down and take the time to share five main things I learned from taking a break from social media to inspire and challenge you to take your break from socials, get busy in life and your help you set more boundaries to live a happier, healthier and more mindful lifestyle.
The five things I learned:
Life is good and beautiful, like RIGHT NOW.
Time is going by FAST & we forget that... A LOT
Self-care should be practiced EVERY DAY
You shouldn't only define yourself by what you do and or have
Keeping up with the Joneses won't bring you success; being yourself will
Let's digest each lesson.
Goals and growth are significant, but life is good and beautiful, like RIGHT NOW.
I am a HUGE advocate for growth and goal setting. I believe it's essential to have a purpose, drive, and a desire for life to continue to be better and brighter. The sky is the limit, and we should always push past our baselines as humans. It's evolution. Having goals helps us maximize our experience to assist in learning more about who we are & what our souls crave.
But in this culture, we make goals EVERYTHING. We get hyper-fixated on producing new results and rarely take the time to appreciate and nurture what is here, in the now.
YES, we have our struggles; you may not be where you want or thought you'd be. Yet, you're still here, breathing and living.
Let's be honest: just because there are trials and tribulations doesn't mean life isn't beautiful, and it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves.
And THAT is what too many of us get stuck on. We are searching for this non-existent utopia where everything will be perfect. Once we find it, we will be present and happy with life.
Life isn't supposed to be perfect in the absence of adversity; life is supposed to help us develop as an extension of the universe. If you know anything about Astronomy or the history of our Earth alone, you would know that often adversity and destruction bring about beautiful and majestic places to be.
Look at all the mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes.
Every volcano that erupts, every earthquake, every hurricane allows for new life to grow in nature (even if it is destructive to our modern life)
We have to look at our struggles the same way nature adapts to its destruction.
Adversity can help us admire life and allow new life to form and new opportunities to arise if we shift our mindsets to realize that duality is to teach us, not punish us. It's not personal, it's universal.
Your life is and can be beautiful with what you have; you have to be willing to see past the bullshit and be here, right now, making decisions that help empower the beauty around you.
2. Time is going by FAST & we forget that... A LOT
I hate to break this to you...
Time isn't stopping for ANYONE.
As we age, it becomes evident that time seems to accelerate. While I may not be familiar with the scientific explanation, it's clear that days, weeks, months, and years appear to pass in the blink of an eye. We often find ourselves reflecting on where all the time has gone.
When I got off social media, I realized we spend most of our time on distractions, speeding up time. I cannot tell you how much more time I had to be present, to experience emotions on a deeper level, to think clearly, and to witness time and what unfolds.
Time slowed down.
I had the revelation that every day is a gift. It's the first and last time we will get to experience it. If we look up and treat time as our most precious gem (because it is), we've lived more fulfilled and prosperous lives.
I don't want us to think, "Where did all the time go."
I want ALL of us to think,
"I'm so happy I know exactly what I did with my time and spent it doing what makes me feel alive and well."
3. Self-care should be practiced EVERY DAY
I'm all for a good Self Care Saturday or Sunday, but Self Care is not designated for one special day of the week. Self-care should be a lifestyle that is practiced every day.
It is not earned. It is not something you 'get' to do because you slaved yourself on a project until you burnt out. It's not a luxury that you get to indulge in every other week like it's some holy temple only reserving access to those deemed worthy.
Self-care is a requirement and priority for overall well-being.
We think of self-care as bubble baths and candles, neglecting to realize that Self-care is nurturing yourself in mind, body, and soul. It's showing up for yourself and acknowledging your presence every day. It's checking in with all you are, listening to the cues telling you to adjust and adapt your approach to life. It's giving yourself permission to show up in the ways you put off so that you can have a strong foundation to show up all you want to become.
Society glorifies being overly busy, but self-neglect should never be celebrated.
It's one thing to take care of your business & make sure your life is in order; it's another to exhaust yourself into burnout and anxiety.
When you show up for self-care, you create a clean and clear pathway for success to thrive in every aspect of your life, not just the demands and stress of work and family.
4. You shouldn't only define yourself by what you do and or have
Cliche, I know. It’s a true statement, though. Our identities are so intertwined with what we do professionally and what we can have physically from that profession that we often forget who we are at the core. You aren’t your houses, cars, watches, or shoes (though I love these things!); you are a soul here to express, learn, grow, and adventure.
You can have a life outside of your professional pursuits and materialistic affairs. You can set aside this need to constantly prove you are worthy to the world and indulge in the desires of creativity, peace, and expression deep inside you.
When I stepped off social media, I realized we are so paralyzed by defining our worth from an image that we forget that our worth is already here without us even trying.
This paralysis and need to “show off” who we are by our things and accomplishments keeps our relationships with life surface-level.
Go deep. Challenge yourself to see beyond what conditions you have. Be successful, wildly successful, and rich in whatever ways you desire; just don't forget about who you are and how to enjoy yourself for all that you are.
5. Keeping up with the Joneses won't bring you success; being yourself will
The only real success is the success you created from YOUR truth.
Society will tell you what success looks like: the perfect family, house, job, and retirement plan by 65.
Your soul, on the other hand, will beg for creativity, intention & adventure.
Choose the path your soul craves, even if others don’t agree!
———
Social media isn’t the cause of every problem in this society, but it often influences a distorted reality and perception of ourselves & life.
I’m not saying delete social media forever. Keep using it as a tool of self-expression.
I challenge you to take a break for yourself. Don't let it be the thing that makes you forget who you are.
Be in life, not worrying about taking pictures to post or documenting every detail about life for others, but create a scrapbook you get to look back on, not remembering how stressed you were making everything perfect for others, but how much you truly indulged and romanticized the present moment.
The present moment is waiting for you with open arms!
social media detox success self-worth and self care
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