Spending too much time on Social Media?

How much time do you spend on Social Media? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Etc.

You’d be surprised how quickly time adds up. Did you know that there are about 2 billion Facebook accounts currently and counting? Very active users spend a minimum of 20-30 minutes on their account each time they log in. Trust me I use to be a one of those and with that being said you’re looking at about 3 hours or MORE of daily activity on social media per user and I’m referring to Facebook alone! Just imagine how much more time is spent on the other sites. There are so many things that easily lead you back to your accounts. The most common are,

• Tagging yourself to places you’ve visited, many businesses encourage you to follow their page.
• Sharing photos of what you’re eating/drinking, a lot of phones automatically pull your location now after taking a photo, so you can easily share it on your favorite site.
• Sharing interesting moments, or things that have happened throughout your day to your friends.
• Sharing links and sites through automatic social media buttons.

We’re in a new generation and technology has evolved tremendously in the last few years and I think that’s amazing! The fact that we’re able to communicate with tons of people all around the world within seconds, is definitely a great privilege! It’s convenient and there’s so much to explore. It’s easier now for Businesses, Writers, and Musicians etc. to create exposure on social media, to get their best work out there. However, along with those great things, there are disadvantages, and there are other not so great things that can come from spending too much time on social media. So, what happens when you’re consumed by social media? What happens when social media is not so social anymore?

Well, being able to pick and choose what the world sees can sometimes result in an Identity Crisis if you don’t prioritize your real life, you can find yourself in a very lonely place and what was once fun quickly turns into addiction and what was once authentic quickly turns into a fallacy. This is because we all have that better version of ourselves in our mind, and we all work to get there on a daily basis and although it is healthy to envision, you can begin to portray an image of yourself that is not 100% true. Which can be misleading to others and yourself and you can easily get caught up in this virtual reality, and begin to distance yourself from people in the real world, including spouses, children, friends, and family and then find it difficult to make a genuine connection. You can become stagnant and stop working at things in your real life which is horrible because if you’re not growing you’re not living. You know I don’t totally blame social media for this because we have a freedom of choice but I do think that this is a part of evolving and it’s a struggle this generation is going to have to face.

Studies have shown that social media has become the leading cause of divorce and depression; I can see why. People are investing so much time into creating the perfect status and having the most friends, the most likes and the best-filtered pictures and not enough time into their real life (Real Mind, Body and Soul). They start to completely shut out everyone around them and don’t take the time to disconnect so they can cherish that quality time at home with family, which can most definitely lead to affairs on both ends. And if at any moment they feel threatened or they aren’t getting attention or satisfaction from their life, then they just run online and seek approval and to them, it’s like “I know who I am, I’m loved online” but the question is do they know who they are offline? Are they making real accomplishments, are they making healthy decisions? Or Are they jeopardizing everything for a virtual reality?

I’ve seen people choose social media over relationships, and claim that the other person is exaggerating, insecure, or too controlling. I’ve seen people claim to be the most positive person online and in real life they’re toxic. I’ve seen people claim to have this perfect life online and in real life, it’s not even close. So, what’s going on?? I’m not absolutely sure but I can tell you this.

In 2013 when my husband and I moved in together, I decided to deactivate all my accounts out of respect for him and our commitment but totally by choice and that’s when my journey really started; That was the best decision I could have ever made! So I went MIA, and I told myself that whoever was my real friend online would reach out to me, and would try to stay in contact and vice versa. Whoever I claimed to be online, would most definitely be who I am in real life and I would go out and make opportunities possible for me. I could spread the same amount of awareness, and make the same amount of genuine connections out in the real world.  Not only did this strengthened my character, it strengthened my marriage and my relationships. I got to see my life for what it was.

My goodness and to think that I got so much criticism for doing this, people thought I had gone mad, or that maybe my husband made me do that lol. Considering I was an active user and had my fair share of positive impacts with my music, my poetry and my passion to spread light. But no this was for me, I had to validate my existence by going out into the real world! I had to remind myself that I’m a living human being with the desire to see the entire world and to experience it all first hand.

Years later, I asked my friends that were still online for an update, they showed me news feeds and stuff and I noticed that many users were still in the same spot they were back in 2013. Others had deactivated or weren’t as active. My friends stated that in reality I never missed out on anything. I’m not going to lie I would question if alienating myself was actually the best option. But then I realized I had experienced so much within those years, and learned so much about myself and didn’t feel the need to document every single thing. I found inspiration, I found a new love and drive for life and I stretched myself and found myself in situations outside my comfort zone that built my character.

So, was I spending too much time on social media? Yes, I think so, because now I see that investing those 3 hours into my real life has gotten me farther than I could have ever imagined. So my point is Social Media can be good but can most definitely be bad for you if not used with self-awareness. Respectfully, this is my perspective and may be different for others but I do encourage people to go out there and have those positive experiences! I know life gets busy, but whenever possible pick up the phone instead of shooting a text, get together as much as possible with friends and family and make those memories count because at the end of the day that’s what makes life so darn special.

Thanks for reading. Much Love!♥

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What’s on your mind?

I love when you find yourself in a place with such positive vibes. You realize that maybe your not having a bad day after all, and maybe life isn’t that bad and maybe there is more people like you, with the same intention. It’s just a matter of changing your environment or changing your routine. You got to get out there and find those great vibes! Find those great experiences and have those uplifting conversations because isolation can get quite lonely sometimes, and it can make you feel stagnant. A simple genuine smile can turn your whole day around! So go out there and exist and when you’re ready to recharge, go back to that place we all love the most. HOME❤ #JustAThought

What’s on your mind?

My dream on the day of the eclipse.

In continuation of my previous post Total Solar Eclipse in LAS VEGAS, I mentioned that the eclipse might have had an influence on my dream that morning, here it goes…

I was climbing a 3 story building and made my way to a balcony. I was with someone but don’t recall who it was but they had jumped off and told me to do the same but I was too scared so I decided to knock on the tenant’s window to use their front door and made up a story as to why I was I was there. I said something like “I live upstairs and I dropped something” they believed me at first until they saw me take off running and end up finding out that I was lying and so they reported it to the government up in outer space. Which caused the higher ups to put a hit out on earth. These would be the last days, and sure enough, the sky gets dark, and missiles start lighting up the sky, and there are explosions everywhere, and I of course was the target.  I remember running for my life like there was no tomorrow LITERALLY.  

Shortly after I end up finding Shakira’s Apartment, which happened to be in the neighborhood I grew up in. I walk in and felt some what safe, but then looked around and it was filthy and I thought to myself, “hmmm I think she’s a gypsy…(Idk why) I think I got to get out of here”. I was only there a few minutes and then I walked out as she followed and next thing you know she turns into a zombie and starts going after me. I then run to find another place and all the other apartments were full, and no one wanted to let me in because apparently, the world was ending because of me. The explosions got closer and much louder.

Soon enough I wake up in real life to really loud thunder, the loudest thunder I’ve heard in a very long time which shook my house and dimmed my lights. The sky was dark, and the rain was pouring. I was still in a trance and all I could think of was this dream. I wondered if I today, on the day of the Eclipse, would actually be the last day of life on earth. It was the scariest feeling, the dream already felt real enough and then to wake up to this.

Oh heck no I can tell you one thing, that felt like a wake-up call! That there told me, that I need to get my survival skills on point! Had it been the last day, I would have not been ready to drop everything and go! This is something we easily ignore, but the way that things are going, and the way the earth is treated, we may never know how much time we have left. That’s why I thin kit’s important that we value our existence each and every day! Like they say, tomorrow isn’t promised. So let’s make the best of today!

Until next time beauties! Thank you for reading.

 

Total Solar Eclipse in LAS VEGAS

It has been 99 years since we’ve experienced this beautiful moment! I have always been intrigued by all the activity in the sky, things like Smoke Rings, Super Moons, Planetary Alignments and of course Total Solar Eclipses!

Well, today I actually got to witness this for the first time with my own eyes LITERALLY and it was phenomenal!!!!!!! I was hoping not to go blind after this since I was seeing orange patches on the wall, right after lol horrible right? I didn’t have eclipse glasses but I had to see this because the next one won’t be for awhile and of course it’s Monday, it’s a work week and I had to escape out of my office very quietly! I would have loved some of those though, the view could have lasted longer but either way I’m happy to have seen what I did.

Here in Las Vegas, we only got a partial but it was still an amazing experience. It’s almost like the moon took a bite of the sun, and you could see it flicker so beautifully. The crazy thing is, the whole city almost missed it because we woke up to very very loud thunder, rain, and a dark sky. Somehow the beautiful sun made its presence, and shined through right at the eclipse peak time 10:32 PST, and allowed us to be part of this global event.

On days like this, you can just feel the sense of unity and connectivity in the air! Even though we may all be in different parts of the world, we’re all still looking at the same sky, with the same excitement, and experiencing the same moment. Wow! What a beautiful world we live in!

PS: I think this eclipse might have had an effect on the dream I was having right before waking up this morning, it was pretty intense! I will be sharing that with y’all later on today but until then I will leave you with this wonderful image I was able to capture back in June. It gave me the Hibbie Jibbies at first lol. Thanks for reading!

 

Yedismind ©

Why A Morning Routine Is Essential

What does your morning consist of? Do you find yourself trying to beat the clock every morning? Do you skip breakfast for the snooze button? If so this is probably one of the first habits you want to transform as quickly as possible for it is the foundation to your lifestyle.

Let’s not get discouraged here you are not alone! I’m right there with you and there is no shame in this game. Fortunately, Self-realization is a step towards the right direction! I’ve started to get in the habit of waking up earlier recently, something I always told myself I would do, only this time I didn’t really have a choice. My husband and I commute together and luckily, he has been scheduled for work much earlier than myself and although I dreaded the thought of it at first, it was honestly a win/win kind of thing.

This was one of those blessings in disguise. You know that saying Mind over Matter? Well, It’s definitely your mind telling you “hey what’s the matter, get back to sleep”! I decided that I was ready for a new outcome and this was my chance to set forth that morning routine I would always envision in my mind when I thought about my perfect day. It’s not like I didn’t want to make a change, I was very much aware of the consequences of sleeping in, and the effect it had on my entire day, and my entire life, my goals, and my dreams! Believe it or not, it even had an effect on my self-esteem overall, for many reasons.

Here are a few:

1. 5 minutes late habit: Whether you have a long walk to the main entrance or you have a drop-off stop, this one puts your reliability at risk. I’d find myself doing 50 on a 35, taking shortcuts and back streets just to miraculously make it on time. The worse part was the stares you get from everyone when you’re the last one rushing into the office.
2. You don’t have time to do your hair/makeup (don’t feel your best): Well not only was I sometimes late but I would have no makeup on yet and my hair was rushed and there were times when we were randomly called for a staff meeting, oh man was this the worst. I haven’t even had my coffee yet!!!
3. You feel rushed and frustrated: With no time to settle in, there were times when I’d get into work my phone would be ringing and my computer wasn’t even on yet, remember those stares? Lol.
4. You grab fast food or miss breakfast (weight gain, no energy): I’d mainly stop for coffee, but would sometimes pick up one of those greasy breakfast burritos to get by or would skip breakfast all together and both options pretty much have no benefit to your energy or your mental state of mind and not to mention the extra pounds I put on along the way.
5. The feeling of failure: Throughout these moments of the day, I would tell myself “man you got to wake up earlier and be ahead of the game” I would put myself down for not doing so because I had no one to blame but myself for not being prepared.

I knew that the goal here was to BE PREPARED!!!! You could never go wrong with that.

So, I made the change and you know what it’s getting easier each day. It’s only the first couple minutes that are the hardest, when your Mind & Your Body are in the state between Sleep & Wakefulness, a part of you will come up with all the reasons you should sleep in and you must not give in though, this is the part that will determine how your day will unfold! As my husband tells me on the days when he sees that struggle in my face. “Don’t think about it, just get up and stretch!! You got this baby!” Also, this is one of the best times to jot down dreams while they’re still fresh if you keep a dream book. (I will have a separate post for this one 😊)Overall It’s GREAT for setting intentions for the day it’s almost like the most creative time of your day.

After about a week or so, I started to notice a big difference in my day, in my attitude, and my productivity. It literally felt like I had all the time in the world, and I could conquer the day confidently! I could wake up calmly and decide what tone I would give the day. I could do my Meditations, My Affirmations, Yoga, and my Hair/Makeup efficiently and still have time to prepare a healthy meal all in one morning!! Wow but for real this time, not that story I would tell myself when snoozing “10 more minutes, you’ll have 20 minutes to get it all done, you got this.” YEAH, RIGHT BRAIN!!!

Putting my morning routine in action was a challenge and I’m still working on it till this day but I could see all the benefits, and I have eliminated other bad habits along the way. Besides my morning cup of Coffee & Tea seems to taste better at the break of dawn! And I have found that Cleansing and Saging your home at this time always feels more effective. The energy in the air is so tranquil, you feel the peace within the silence and when you start to see the sunrise, you feel ahead of it all! You know that the day will be filled with nothing but greatness!

So will you let snoozing determine how your day will unfold? Or will you be ready! And give yourself the chance to be prepared and be present in all that you do on a daily basis!What does your Morning Routine look like? I’d love to hear your responses!

Until next time my beauties! Sending you all Much Love & Light!

Yedismind ©