Life is manic and at one point or another, many of us ask, “What on earth am I here for?” You pause, look up and maybe ask yourself what are you doing?
When does that feeling creep up? You can ask this question at any time and you can ask it for lengths of time. Or maybe you ask it for a brief moment and you have an answer within minutes.
Some of us figure out at a very early age what our calling is. Or our passion. Mission. Whatever you believe it is, go and do that.
We all urn for a witness to our lives. Validation.
Technology offers us that through Double-Taps, Likes, Shares, Views, etc., even though it’s nothing tangible. We become obsessed with the validation of others.
There’s a billion people on this planet. For me, I wrestle with this question (as of a lately), “What am I doing?” It’s all part of this blink-of-an-eye-adventure.
I’ve watched the video below more times than I’d like to admit, only because Jon Foreman is smarter than me in many senses, but I don’t devalue what I have to offer others. I know how capable I am and acknowledge how much of a self-starter I am. I included the video below (mind you it’s just under 28 minutes long) because toward the end, the guy interviewing brings the topic of validation up.
Note: Jon is in a band that’s been around for nearly 20 years.
When you allow technology to suck the soul out of your accomplishments (are people viewing my work?) you begin to devalue yourself and question things. It takes a lot of repetitive hits with your message to sink in for others before they ask questions. If you’re doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over, it’ll take probably two to three years for your “brand identity” (what others affiliate you with when they think of you) to stick. So before you get down about “What am I doing with my time?” just remember that.
Also,
Jon Foreman asks this question at the 26:26 marker: “Does anything I do matter? Does anything that I’ve accomplished, does anything that I’ve done matter? Some of my insecurities are driven from that mentally of, ‘Hurry up and matter.‘”
You don’t need to be told you’re doing something right when you’re on your journey. Just do it. You don’t need validation. I never asked the question “Am I doing this right?” so often before Facebook. Did you read or skim that last sentence? Do yourself a favor and read it again.
What’s your reset button to bring your soul back to planet earth and away from the technology? Give yourself the acknowledgement you deserve because damnit, your projects are worth every headache you ignore to push through and make your own deadline(s). And you know this. Buy those cheap gold stars for the calendar. Those new pair of shoes. That clothing item that reflects your brand identity. Take that trip out into the country where you can hear yourself think. Even better, think about the five people you surround yourself with most outside of work and how they make you feel. Call them up and just thank them. My reset button is all about whatever draws me back to commonality.
Stand, but don’t stay in the middle,
Rachel
P.S. One thing I want to make clear is that technology is not all bad. People have jobs where they’re surrounded by people all day and they need to get away from people and to do that, they submerge themselves in whatever will help them refocus their lens. Sometimes that just so happens to be technology. Do what works for you.