Three Lessons Lacoya Learned from Giving Up Social Media

Here at Cultivate What Matters we’re big believers in social media-free weekends and intentional time away from our phones. This spills over into everything we do, including the Making Things Happen Conference!

One of the core components of the MTH Conference is being able to dig deep into what matters most free from any distractions. To make this easy for our attendees, we provide a safe home for all cell phones so they can focus on uncovering what matters without the temptation of a buzzing phone nearby.

When we interviewed MTH Conference Alum, Lacoya Heggie, for our monthly MTH Alum newsletter a few weeks ago, we were intrigued when she mentioned recently taking a long hiatus from social media.

We love seeing our MTH Alum live out what they learn from the conference, and we learned so much from her interview that we wanted to invite her to share a bit more about her experience with the Cultivate community.

What prompted you to go on a social media hiatus?

I decided to take a hiatus from social media for several reasons.

I felt like I was becoming more invested in the surface relationships of Facebook (not to demean those relationships in any way) than I was the relationships that I could be forming in my very own community. I was also becoming overwhelmed with all of the social media inspiration that comes from everywhere about everything.

I had just made the firm decision to transition out of wedding planning and pursue a different direction in my career. I needed some alone time to zone in on what I wanted versus what my brain was telling me I wanted from what I was consuming via social media.class=”s1″>There are so many pretty things and microscopic lenses into everyone’s lives on social media that you can really lose focus and get your goals and desires jumbled up based on what you see, what you think you want, and what looks great.

It’s hard to focus on what matters most to you when you’re constantly looking at what everyone else around you is working towards.

 

What lessons have you learned from your social media hiatus?

1. Focus on pursuing my own, organically-created goals.

Focus, focus, focus. What does our family desire our lives to look like? What do I like to do? What could I, realistically (with my life and my schedule and household income), pursue as a career? What do I need to work on and perfect? FOCUS on MY house and what we want – not on what I see via social media.

2. Don’t take social media personally.

class=”s1″>What I do, how I view myself, those around me (anything personal that I need to think on and determine), will not be determined by what I see on Instagram or Facebook. Some people have a great life but don’t have an Instagram. Just because a person seems insanely successful on social media, doesn’t mean their life is perfect. The break was exactly what I needed to sever the tie that tricks people into taking things personally on social media.

3. Social media is a tool.

There are some great things about social media, like getting to stay in touch with friends and family, but, in the realm of business—social media is a tool.

Most importantly I’ve learned that my identity, worth, and value does not come from a virtual platform. It comes from the very real reality of the life that I live, the wife that I am, the mom that I am, the sister that I am, and the amount of time that I spend cultivating my friends right where I am.

Isn’t it great to hear from Lacoya? We firmly believe social media isn’t a bad thing when it is used purposefully (it’s how we’ve met so many of you!), and eliminating yourselves from social media entirely isn’t always an option.

However, when you use social media and your times of connectivity on purpose, it becomes intentional. Write out a mission statement for how and why you will use it well. Post that mission statement to your computer or desk where you will see it often. If you find yourself mindlessly using social media again, check your motive and get back to cultivating what matters in your life!

Do you need time to unplug and focus on uncovering what matters most to you? The Making Things Happen Conference is for you! We give you two days of intentional time to start uncovering the things that are important to you, knowing that time away is an investment in yourself and will create a ripple effect, impacting those around you, too.

Are you ready to take the leap and join us at Making Things Happen? Now through July 31st, you can get nearly 50% off your ticket with the early-bird rate!  Register now!