With the birth of my daughter, I've really struggled about what I share online outside of running. It's prompted me to think about what does it mean to be seen and fully authentic on social media.
Is it about sharing too much or sharing too little?
Is it about, showing every success, failure, bad photo, every personal moment?
Is it about using your platform to share and inspire, or to show a montage of your own successes?
What does it mean to be real to oneself and authentic to the external world?
I feel that generally speaking, most will want to present the best side of themselves, in most aspects of life.
I've learnt and seen that some of the most outwardly confident people are often the most insecure.
I've learnt that people are complicated, who wear multiple masks, who often have a deep rooted subconscious narrative, that directs their consciousness decisions, sometimes unbeknownst to them and us.
However on the flip side, developing self awareness and having an answer aren't also a solution to all life's challenges.
Sometimes people's truths are driven by deep subconscious fears, which they rationalise to be "the truth" which is easier when listening to our friends speaking, then maybe recognising in ourselves.
No one is perfect, no one has all the answers, so I try my best not to judge, because who am I to question someone else's authenticity, when I don't fully know the truth they tell themselves, compared to actual reality.
A fool will tell and advise based on certainty. I know for sure that even if you think your right, shut up, because you might just learn something, by listening and being the last one to talk.
My social media profile is about my running journey. But there's things I'm not comfortable sharing in such a public environment at this stage, like photos of my daughter, hence the photo style of the blog photo.
But there people who are comfortable sharing family photos online, and there's nothing wrong with this.
It comes down to what are you comfortable sharing and what would you resolutely defend, even if you were criticised for it.
But whether you play it safe or put it all out there you will be criticised.
But as I get older I realise that authenticity comes from the self, and doesn't require external validation, from people or things.
My time on social media has taught me a valuable lesson in the real world, that whether you have 40k people that like you or 40k people that detest you. It doesn't matter if you don't like yourself.
Whilst "Marathon Marcus" is a partial snapshot of my life, showing my running journey, despite the colour splash photos, it's authentic aspect of a part of my life.
So however you present yourself on social media, or in real life, keep your authenticity based on your own values of what feels comfortable for you.
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