Back from a 3-month break from Instagram and feeling GREAT.
So great, I’m not even ashamed to take this super obnoxious selfie ✌️
Anywho, I don’t expect you to care I wasn’t on Instagram. But stepping away was so rejuvenating, I want to share my experience!
First off, I love motivating people. For a while, I tried doing that on Instagram.
But this past fall + winter, I found myself posting motivational quotes, career ambitious, healthy habits … and in reality, feeling like crap.
Physically -- I was letting myself go. I’d have “cheat days” 1-3 times a week; wake up with low energy; struggle to workout.
Professionally, I felt stuck. I spent the last year working as a news producer in Buffalo. It felt great to be home & focus on my personal life after living overseas. But gradually, that turned into avoiding the next step in my career 😬
So … I deleted Instagram. I tried to center myself & figure out how I wanted to LIVE instead of what I wanted to POST.
During this time, I:
Cut out processed food
Trained myself to do fasted cardio
Journaled and meditated more often
Began teaching a journalism class at the University at Buffalo
Took on my FIRST on-camera story with WNED/WBFO (our local PBS station)
Planned + booked another reporting trip to Lebanon
Focused on being a better producer at my actual job
Worked on my relationships 😏
Spent quality time with family/friends without my phone
But the BIGGEST accomplishment was one I didn’t expect: feeling inner joy without this app.
I always want to be more satisfied with my life than my Instagram feed. For a while, I wasn’t. If you feel the same way, I highly recommend a break 😊