Last August after I had been in Berlin for almost six weeks, I decided to take a break from Instagram. While I love feeling connected to friends and family, Instagram takes up way too much time. And I detest being constantly sold to and having to search for the content I really want. Clicking the icon felt stressful and once in the vortex, I was overstimulated fast.
Two clues tipped me off that I needed to make a change:
My clearest emotions are dark ones*: anger, resentment, frustration.
Desire, or a lack thereof: I didn’t really want to be there.
So I took a break. A longer one, haha! I went back in November and have tried to take more breaks since then as a way to avoid getting to those telltale clues again.
In other situations, clues for the “how” I need to know a change is needed would be things like:
Photo credit: Mel Poole via Unsplash
Exhaustion. The act of doing XYZ makes me tired even before I do it.
Dread. A gloomy existential-like foreboding that nibbles at the edges of my consciousness before I do said thing / go to said place.
Incongruity with my own integrity: this is a fuzzier one to explain but it’s basically me being able to look myself in the eye with honesty.
Hyper-vigilance. This one goes out to all the survivors out there! This would look like an inability to relax in the space, doing the thing, be present. Anticipating the bottom dropping out, a dreaded email or harsh correction.
What about you? *How* Do You Know You Need To Make a Change? What has that looked like in the past for you or even now as you consider a change? What are your clues? Leave a comment below.
*From psychotherapist Miriam Greenspan’s: dark emotions for the so-called “negative” ones.
Oh, I had this very thing happen to me the other day. I was feeling depressed and completely unbalanced. So I wrote about why. Turns out that yes, too much social media; too much anger over the state of the country; too much time AWAY from the things that really matter to me. So I resolved to start turning that focus back on my writing. I'm staying away from controversial posts on FB (i.e. commenting on dumb posts) and limiting my exposure to the news. I feel so much better!
This has been heavy on my mind this morning! This inertia that I feel is like a volcano boiling under the surface, the earth is smoldering it and keeping it in place. I mostly notice I need to change when I keep creating friction without a clear path forward. It’s not always the “if” so much as it is the “how” and “what” to change for me. Change, a difficult thing for me. Thank you for helping me feel less alone today!
Gosh, Holly, that's really an insightful observation. And I love this contrary language: inertia as a volcano! Thanks for sharing that. And you're welcome. <3
Oh, I had this very thing happen to me the other day. I was feeling depressed and completely unbalanced. So I wrote about why. Turns out that yes, too much social media; too much anger over the state of the country; too much time AWAY from the things that really matter to me. So I resolved to start turning that focus back on my writing. I'm staying away from controversial posts on FB (i.e. commenting on dumb posts) and limiting my exposure to the news. I feel so much better!
Ugh, I feel that Melissa: "depressed and unbalanced". Glad you listened to your self and switched off for a bit!
This has been heavy on my mind this morning! This inertia that I feel is like a volcano boiling under the surface, the earth is smoldering it and keeping it in place. I mostly notice I need to change when I keep creating friction without a clear path forward. It’s not always the “if” so much as it is the “how” and “what” to change for me. Change, a difficult thing for me. Thank you for helping me feel less alone today!
Gosh, Holly, that's really an insightful observation. And I love this contrary language: inertia as a volcano! Thanks for sharing that. And you're welcome. <3