analysis paralysis in the age of social media

Consistency is king on social media. Or so I've been told. Unless you already have millions of followers, it's the general rule that bloggers and influencers should post often (some say every day, others say multiple times a day).

Then there's me, the bad blogger, posting a few times a month at most. For the past 12 months or so, I've been involuntarily stuck in limbo: wanting to create but never quite being able to do so. I thought about my blog and Instagram every day, brainstorming and visualising new ideas, so it was baffling why I was so uneasy about hitting that 'publish' button.

Fast forward to May of this year: MBFWA. I found myself overwhelmed with new content that I was eager to start editing and sharing. It was such a contrast to my previous months of hesitation and inaction. Somewhere along the way, I had lost confidence in what I was doing. I found myself questioning each blog post topic and each photo that I was editing. I forgot what it was I wanted to share, and what I wanted to say. I had momentarily lost sight of that burning desire to create.   

There were so many words and stories in me that I wanted to share, but each time I would sit down and begin to write, the self-doubt would arise. Would anyone even read this? What if people hate it? What if I sound completely stupid?

Instagram was much the same. My life is not extraordinary — I'm not travelling every day and I outfit repeat quite often. But this is what my feed was filled with, so I started to think that maybe I was doing it all wrong. Why were people following me?! What should I be posting?! (Classic overreaction.)

Analysis paralysis. Constantly over-thinking, over-analysing, and worrying so much that I never did anything at all. Complete inaction. AKA me, for the past 12 months.

I'm glad I realised sooner than later, but unless I do something about it, it won't mean much. But trying to rationalise and rein in intense emotions is easier said than done. 

We're all trying to shake a bad habit, or pick up a good one, and I guess this is the one I should work on. So for the umpteenth time, I vow to post more. To take the chance to fearlessly create. To always do what I love. To nurture the curiosity in finding my style. And to find the courage to be me.