When I think about goals, accomplishments, contributions and their connection to self worth I am left wondering what kind of investment strategy might work best?
If creating yourself and putting yourself out there on social media is one way to express what one is proud of accomplishing then why put all of your eggs in one basket? Perhaps that does make sense if you want to go the route of high risk, high reward but to be a bit more pragmatic might be a better strategy and changing that strategy over time and based on changing circumstances could actually be a very smart thing to do.
A friend and I this week were talking over coffee about how much people generally "puff up" on social media. He shared stories of people who's lives were falling apart behind the scenes but on Facebook you'd think they were the happiest and most accomplished people in the world.
This fascinated me considering some of the examples included divorce, loss of loved ones and career changes. With all that life has to offer in terms of ups and downs it seems strange that the identities we create for ourselves wouldn't accurately reflect this. Again, Im feeling a little better about having puffed up during challenging times being not so alone about it.
Today I had the opportunity to present to hundreds of people on the topic of personal branding. The question came up about social media. I took a deep breath and honestly expressed, "well - I've made a lot of mistakes there and I've learned from trial and error." Ultimately the advice I gave was to invest time and energy into multiple platforms and for specific purposes. I did express that my personal preference these days is not to engage with close friends and family on social media but rather to make the time for real exchanges with them.
When I think about purpose and the feeling I have about all of us having one, I can't help but imagine the need for a diverse set of social platforms that cater to each of these and no one platform representing all of us. Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, you name it - depending on what you are doing at any given point in time it could very well make sense to see time spent on these as an investment and one should weigh the return on that investment when deciding how much time to spend.
If the collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing and content creation is not aligning you with your purpose or ushering you forward on your path - stop.
The other thing I've realized is that time is the one resource that can't be accumulated or recovered, in fact you can loose it - you can loose future time and opportunity if you are not mindful about what you are doing.
Now I am all about spontaneity and play and creativity and spending time doing these things has always given me a return on investment. Each of these can be done through social media or in some digital medium but even these need diversification.
What I want to be so careful about is that connection to self worth and how it is measured and how those feelings of personal accomplishment are expressed in the world in general.
My value is extraordinary. This is an internal measure. A sacred measure. Where I choose to add value and to receive value can be opportunistic or deliberate but should always be symbiotic or selfless (based on my values anyway). You know what made me feel the most odd about Facebook was that I felt like I was shifting into a taker mode. Taking the attention of others for personal gain.
If my work adds value and a community of people share that work in support of the ability to add more value to the world around me - wonderful!
My heart has been feeling a lot as of late and the conversations Ive been having, the doors opening, the opportunities coming and the picture of the future forming has so little to do with social media with the exception of being present there as a way to be connected to the right people at the right time and the right knowledge or collaboration.
All the rest of it feels like hype and there is a hype cycle well documented as it pertains to new innovations and in particular technological innovations. I think Im just in sync with the fact that the hype is coming to an end and that integration is on the horizon. The future of social collaboration will be less about hype and more about deliberate people/community driven purpose. Less about the individual and more about communities of practice.
There will always be great minds and passionate hearts behind the scenes driving these communities of practice but real leadership, purpose driven, whole hearted leadership does not get up on a pedestal. It's never about them, it's always about the purpose that everyone is connected to. That is the path of an authentic leader.
Respecting a communities sacred space is about respecting the community. You don't respect a community by constantly putting the same people on pedestals or allowing the same people to climb up on them all of the time. Attention seeking is insecurity. When you know your value, when you know your worth, you don't need to advertise. Everything you need comes to you!
All you have to do, is show up and decide where you want to show up. Showing up in only the same place all of the time is limiting yourself. Showing up too many places is also limiting yourself. Connecting your purpose and sacred space lets you know when, where and how to show up and to trust the rest will take care of itself.
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