I also started to notice that when I spent too much time on socials my energy didn’t feel so good and my intuition didn’t feel so clear, and not just in the moment of scrolling or briefly afterwards, but longer term.
When I took time to meditate on that I could clearly see that social media was part of the problem. Not only was I picking up on waaaay too much of everyone else’s energy, it was also messing with my nervous system putting me in flight or flight mode and making me feel like I had to constantly be doing something – posting more, having a bigger or deeper impact, commenting more, just generally doing more.
And while I was still able to set some boundaries for myself (not using socials on the weekends for example), I knew I had to do something big before socials became a big problem.
Why 40 days?
40 days is a pretty magical amount of time.
Jesus went into the desert for 40 days where he was tempted by the devil.
40 days is considered the amount of time needed to break a habit and change your conscious mind.
In Kundalini Yoga we often do a specific kriya (set of movements) or meditation for 40 days to not only change a habit but also your destiny.
40 days is a long time, but it’s also not really. It’s achievable. It’s not like you’re signing yourself up for being off social media forever, but it’s also enough time to really get a break and notice the changes.
My findings
OK, enough rambling, so what actually happened when I took 40 days off social media?
I felt relieved.
While I was a little hesitant to put up that post that I was getting off socials for 40 days (meaning I had to go through it!), once the posts were up and the apps were deleted off my phone I actually just felt a deep sense of relief.
I played a lot of Homescapes.
With no social media or work email (I removed that off my phone a while ago!) on my phone, whenever I had nothing to do and picked up my phone, I played Homescapes. As of writing this I’m on level 3290 but although I’ve played it a lot, I can easily just play a few rounds and put my phone down again. I actually also find it really helps when my anxiety pops up to say hello. If you play too add me as a friend! :P
My business did not suffer.
There was actually one week where I sold more digital courses and kits than I had in ages! I stayed in contact with my newsletter subscribers and let them know about workshops and other offerings and while I know that social media is good for my business it was nice to know that people are still finding my work whether I’m posting constantly on socials or not.
Getting off socials also helped me to get clearer about my business, what I’m creating and how I want to show up in the world! I got loads of downloads and ideas about new offerings and workshops.
Time went slower.
When I posted I was back, one person commented saying that the time went quickly, but actually I felt like I was off social media for ages! If time feels like it’s moving too fast, take a break from socials and see if you feel the difference!
I enjoyed the moment.
Without thinking about posting on social media I found myself more present in the moment. Instead of thinking – I have to get photos of this for social media, I was much more able to just be. I still took photos, but they were for me, my friends and family, not for the whole world.
