The Selfie Sabotage- It's Time to Change Your Life Lens!

Login to your favorite social media outlet and you're likely to have a feed inundated with "selfies" of your friends enjoying their lives. Selfies give us the opportunity to view others experiencing life in the moment-vacations, restaurants, concerts, etc. all shown through a first person point of view. Generally, selfies are lighthearted and enjoyable for friends to view.  However, I'm sure you may have that "one friend" who has taken their selfies to a whole new level, with pictures taken in every imaginable situation and location possible, many of which you would never have the slightest desire to see! The trend of selfies doesn't seem to be dying out anytime soon.  In fact, a recent study conducted by USA Today, estimated that over 1 million selfies are taken and posted to social media accounts every day! While selfies have allowed us to experience life through another's eyes, they also at the same time, have begun to bring about a societal shift for us to tend to focus only on our "selfie".   When we are on our journey to improving ourselves, it's easy to view life exclusively through the "selfie lens".  It makes logical sense that as we are working hard towards losing weight, training for a marathon, or trying to break a personal record on a lift, that we can be so intently focused on accomplishing that goal, that what is going on around us holds little significance.  Furthermore, it logically follows that with each step of progress we make towards our goal, we’re thrilled and want to share it with our friends.  While our intentions may be of the purest of motives, there seems to be a fine line in which “selfies” depicting our everyday progress can cross over into what becomes a quest of self-exaltation and seeking praise from others for our efforts.  The truth is that your hard work should speak for itself, results speak so much louder than any cheesy gym selfie ever will. 

It’s important to guard ourselves from not falling into the trap of seeking the approval or praise from others on our journey to self-improvement and to always try to remain humble.   Matthew 23:12, "for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted".  I’m not suggesting you should never share your success with others, you should!  It’s important to celebrate your accomplishments and you have a right to be applauded!  What I am proposing to you is that if you take a quick glance at your social media accounts and you have more selfies than a Kardashian, then you may want to evaluate the motives behind your selfies. My friends, if you have fallen into the snare of seeking the approval and praise of others, you will never be satisfied on your journey.  No amount of “likes” on all those selfies you post will never be enough to fulfill that inner void which you seek to be fulfilled.  If you are working towards improving yourself, the applause of others should not be needed in order for you to continue making progress towards your goals.  The misfortune of living life with the “selfie lens” is that you are so focused on yourself and what others think of you that you completely miss the opportunity of speaking life into the dreams and goals of others. 

When you widen the lens from which you view life, you will begin to experience the most beautiful moments in life that will bring much greater inner satisfaction than you could ever create and accomplish through your own ability.  Being a part of others journeys- encouraging them, inspiring them, building them up, seeing them reach their goals- this is what life is about my friends.  You want to live life to its fullest?  Widen your lens, look around you and see who you can encourage, motivate, inspire, who you can speak life into and build up.  Look around my friends!  You're surrounded by people who are fighting battles you could never imagine and they could use some encouragement! See that elderly man who just pushed his walker across the gym floor over to the weights and nailed out a set of bicep curls? Tell him that he’s inspiring you.  See that overweight girl drenched in sweat, looking like she could pass out at any moment but is still fighting through her workout? Tell her that she is doing a great job and to keep up the hard work. You could be the very reason someone doesn’t give up on their journey. You could be the one one to give someone the hope that they need to continue fighting their battle.  Words of encouragement spoken to others are so much more motivating than any picture of your smelly fish and brown rice prep meal or selfie of you flexing your bicep pump in the gym mirror will ever be. You see life isn’t about your “selfie” and the sooner you make this realization, the sweeter and more satisfying your journey will become.  When you view life through the lens of love, you will see there is a much wider perspective to be observed than just your own.  You’re part of a community unified in the fact that we are all on a journey and that while our goals and destinations may each be unique, there is a common longing in each of us to be encouraged and supported while on that journey.  So today my friends, I encourage you to change the lens from which you may have been viewing life, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.