I took this spring (mostly) off of social media. I needed a break; you can read about it here. 

 

Now I am dipping my toes back into the world of socials, but I am treading slowly. Deliberately. More consciously. And only time will tell if I can find a way to exist and share my work in this sphere in a way that feels authentic, nourishing, and creative. 

 

Recently, one main realization that has been bubbling to the surface is this: 

 

My life is not for consumption. 

 

Let me explain. 

 

Since I started my coaching practice in 2014, the line between me/my life and my work has become very blurred. Part of generating “content” depended upon consistently mining my own life for stories, examples, and lessons, often in real-time. 

 

My professional social media presence was as much about my personal life as it was about my work, though that was not the original intention. 

 

It’s tricky because personal stories and photos not only tend to generate the most likes, but I also realize that they are what resonate between us as human beings. Other people’s stories make us feel less alone because they allow us to see ourselves in one another. 

 

AND that meant I was oftentimes sharing pieces of my life that had nothing to do with coaching or creativity or teaching Qoya-inspired movement, but were rather simply pieces of my personal life. 

 

But these weren’t my personal pages, where I shared my life with select people that I actually know in real life. These were my professional pages where I also invited people into my offerings. 

 

The line between professional and personal, as well as public and private, was almost non-existent.

 

And it started to feel as if I was putting myself and my life and my experiences and my stories up for consumption. 

 

I wasn’t selling the work; I was selling me. 

 

That didn’t feel good. 

 

This also made my work feel very precious. If someone didn’t resonate with my message, it felt like a personal rejection of me as a human being because there was very little delineation between me and what I offer. 

 

As you can imagine, this was not sustainable. This mindset did not allow me to be creative and take risks and try new things. If something failed, it wasn’t the offer that didn’t resonate with folks, it meant that I failed. This meant there was very little room for play and experimentation.

 

That is why, as of now, as I tread slowly back into the world of social media, I am exploring something different. My professional pages will be (mainly) about what I offer. The work. The message. My ideas. My point of view. What is inspiring me. But they will not, for the most part, be a place where I share about my personal life. 

 

The work will be the work; it will stand on its own. 

 

And I will be free to be me.