Put Your Blinders On: 3 Ways To Stop Striving
Do you ever get the sensation that you’re striving REALLY hard?
Like you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses?
It’s funny. I used to hear this phrase tossed around a lot when I was younger and my main question was who the Joneses were. Years down the road, and now I get it… everyone’s just tired. Tired of just trying to keep up with it all.
It’s become something I’m hyper aware of now that I’ve watched technology boom. I’m not so young that I don’t know the simple joys of spending hours outside with friends until dusk hit, like today’s kids. I still have fond memories of riding my bike as the sun set instead of learning new dances that are 30 seconds or less.
And while I’ve grown with technology, I also feel like I’ve been aging with it.
When so much is online ALL the time, it can lead to a ‘who did it better’ showdown without us knowing or intending it to happen.
We’re not inherently setting out to, but we want people to know what we’re up to. We want people to see us killing the game everyday, when that might not be what’s happening off screen even 20% of the time.
This life can often be unglamorous. It’s beautiful - don’t get me wrong, but beauty doesn’t have to be frilly to be wonderful.
We can lead beautiful lives that aren’t flashy or showy. They can be simple. And they don’t always have to be curated moments on little squares with 600 likes and just as many comments.
More than ever, I’ve been celebrating the wins of those around me, and then reminding myself that it’s time to put the blinders back on.
It brings up a lot of images of horse races in my mind, and this is why - the horses are focused on nothing but the one thing they’ve trained their lives for. They want to win.
And while, as humans, our goal doesn’t have to be winning everything, but I think there’s something to be said about putting our heads down so we don’t get tripped up in watching how Susy from Delaware runs her florals business and thinking that ours needs to run the exact same way (and if there is a Susy in Delaware with a florals business - I hope you’re killing it! And sorry for picking you as my example).
When we focus on doing things in ways that are so right for us, that’s when we flourish. It’s important to look up and around, but when we spend too much time comparing, it breeds inaction. And there’s no place for that in a healthy business or life.
If it feels like it’s time to put the blinders on, there’s a few things I suggest.
Decompress from socials. Set a limit, take them off your phone if you’re too tempted - do what it takes to enjoy a mini detox. I promise the world will not crumble when you log off.
Treat your social media like your friend group. You wouldn’t befriend people that agitate you, so why would you follow accounts that do? Opening your apps should more or less feel like attending a surprise party - you’re not sure what’ll be waiting for you, but you're darn sure excited to be there.
Engage. If you’re going to use your time online, engage. Comment on the small business owners picture, slap heart eyes on your friend’s new baby, hype someone up who just achieved a goal. Let’s make it a real celebration and show up for people online as authentically as we would in person.
Putting blinders on doesn’t you have to tune out necessarily. Treat it more like dialing in. Choose to spend more of your energy working on yourself, your goals, your loved ones.
Nobody can do what you do the exact way you do it. That’s your magic. That’s what this world needs. It needs you - showing up authentically the way you were designed to. Don’t spend your time trying to be like someone else; they’re already serving their role.
