Dave from Area 224 is on a break…from Facebook. AND…
I’m on a break from negativity, too. In fact, I want to stick a fork in it. Because…It’s done.
Really, though, you can listen to outside forces that tell you everything sucks, or you can choose to ignore those outside forces entirely, and move the heck on.
I’m choosing the latter. It’s hopefully going to bring more positivity to my life.
So this isn’t a missive that says you should give up entirely on social media – considering the fact that a blog can be considered one of the pillars of your social media strategy, I’d be flying in the face of convention if I gave it all up.
But I’m taking a break from Facebook, and, even more importantly, from being so gosh darn negative.
Why, Dave, the sudden about-face? 3 Reasons:
1. Everyone’s life looks better than yours…
But, in real life, it isn’t.
I’ve always had a saying about business travel: Those that don’t travel for business are jealous of those who do. And those who do travel for business are jealous of those who don’t.
The old, negative me would look at a Facebook post and say “For the love of Mike, why are you traveling AGAIN? Shut. Up.”
The new, positive me…actually, I don’t want to make them envious of MY lack of travel – I mean, a Foursquare check-in from my living room seems rather much – but, there is something to be said for not having to cope with ANOTHER airline delay. Or a botched hotel check-in (which is much more serious than a botched Foursquare check-in).
People aren’t sharing their travel stories to spite you. Really, they’re not. They’re just…being “social.” It’s nothing personal.
2. The internet is filled with half-truths, lies, hyperbole, and so much more!
Hey, I bumped into one “internet-famous” person online recently who came clean. They used to make a lot of money, now they don’t. They used to live in a big house, now they’re not. They used to be married and now, well, they aren’t. This was someone that, in all candor, I would look to for advice, back when the perception I had of them was high-flying success.
Rather than grave dance on someone’s misfortunes – which is not only mean, it’s counter-productive – maybe there’s something to taking the high road?
Guess what? This sort of thing will happen, over and over and over again. The internet is a great thing: you can create the perception that you are both large AND in charge.
But, really. If you’re NOT the real deal, the world will find out. It may be tomorrow, it may be a few years from now.
My own take: “Who. Cares.”
Look, I’ve got my own problems, you’ve got your own problems, and we are (GASP) all in this together. Take what people say with a grain of salt…or a salt lick. Especially online. Easier to be positive that way.
3. Both sides just spent $2B to tell you the other one sucks.
It’s true: either your guy won or they lost, but, in any event, someone spent a whole lotta money to drill home the negative imagery.
Rather than belabor the point of how negative this campaign was, I’m choosing to focus on those things that ARE in my control.
It’s not about looking at a glass that’s half-full while you’re driving a car off a cliff – it’s more than that. Or maybe not.
In any event, I’m NOT sticking my head in the sand hoping problems will go away. That’s being ridiculous. Instead, I’m getting my head out of the sand and focusing on those things I CAN CONTROL.
