Simply Me
Posted by Rochelle Armstrong | January 26, 2021 | Leading Authentically
Why is it that the thought of social media frightens me? Maybe writing a post, creating videos, and going live makes you light up, but it’s intimidating to me. Reluctantly, over the past few weeks, I set up an account on Instagram and Facebook, accidentally reactivating a Facebook account that I thought I deleted years ago. You should have seen the look of panic on my face when a flood of notifications popped up every time I opened my Mac to communicate with someone about business. I thought, “What happened?” “What have I done?” More importantly, “How can I undo IT?” I uploaded a profile picture and a cover picture to set-up a business page on Facebook. The overwhelming response paralyzed me. I shut down. I gently closed my Mac and spent the rest of the day asking myself, “Are you ready for this?”
If you’re someone who is actively engaged on social media, this may all seem weird to you. Honestly, being one of the few people that I know who don’t use social media makes me feel weird. Is there something wrong with me? When I see people post videos and pictures, I wish that the desire to do that would come easy. I admire the freedom, confidence, and courage to showcase everything that someone thinks, feels, does, and eat to the world. Ah! How refreshing that must be.
Interestingly enough, I’ve completed eight out of the eleven steps Facebook encouraged me to do before publishing my business page, but I deviate. Instead of adding the information needed for the last three actions, I took a beeline and started watching tutorials on creating a You-Tube channel. Are you beginning to wonder if I’m a masochist—yeah, me too? Sadly, I’ve convinced myself that I’m “All-in!” But who am I kidding? I created a distraction that makes me more nervous than writing a simple post. If I’m hesitating to write a Welcome note for my Facebook business page, do I believe that I will create a Welcome video? We will see.
This morning as I was listening to a podcast of two female pop icons in an interview about their fame, I came to the acceptance and realization that I never want to be famous. To that end, I asked myself, do I even want to be rich? Wealthy, yes. But I’m not too fond of the problems that can come with more money. Simplicity works for me. If I didn’t need to earn an income to help take care of my family, I would write for amusement, conduct one-on-one coaching for a select few clients, and maybe do several speaking engagements a year. Albeit, I will be unbothered if I did the latter less frequently.
As I encourage you, I will promote to myself that no matter how scary or intimidating it is to share yourself with the world, we all have gifts, talents, and perspectives that may be uplifting, even inspiring for others. Notwithstanding, there will be moments that I’ll have a dichotomy of fear and excitement warring internally as I introduce part of my gifts to the world, but I will find solace knowing that is simply me.