How is Instagram distracting your focus from the process?

I am not against social media AT ALL! I love it, actually! It provides lots of value to our lives and connects us more than ever to people. The point of this blog is not to evaluate social media pros and cons. The goal is to draw your attention to how Instagram changes your focus from the process to the results.

You might be trying to learn a new language, play an instrument, do exercise, or in general, on your journey of adding a new skill to your life. To develop your skills, how persistent are you? How many times have you tried to stick to a habit of practicing but quit after a while?

During the pandemic, in the spirit of doing something fun at home, I started Yoga (again!). My pandemic version of Yoga included a mat and a mobile yoga application. I dedicated 20 minutes after waking up to doing deep stretches and melting into Ashtanga’s poses as best as I could. In addition to the physical benefits, it relaxed my mind and helped me start my day less chaotic. 

After a few weeks, it became a habit, an inseparable part of my morning routine. Every day after I woke up, I had two glasses of water, spread my mat, opened up the app, and started! It became part of my identity…I am someone who practices yoga regularly! Beautiful! I was enjoying the process of learning and becoming stronger. I could see the change in my body as it started to become more flexible and more powerful to hold some poses. Even my mood and mental health were improved.

Things were good until I saw the first Yoga advertisement on my Instagram. The ad showed a beautiful fit young lady doing a challenging pose that made me wonder if she had any bones. With a dropped jaw, I wonder how cool it would be if I could do that! So unique. So flexible.

Then it all started! 

Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, I received more and more Yoga ads.

After a while, I was looking at my yoga practice differently. I was not celebrating my body achievements anymore but became frustrated by how inflexible it was. It was hard to focus on my improvement with a massive gap between my body and what I envisioned.

I am not even close to do a split! Ah! I don’t know anything about Yoga.

Then I started searching more on the internet for different challenging poses and becomes obsessed with how I can get there:

How long does it take to do a split?
How long should I do yoga before seeing results?

So I was clearly steering away from my motivation of doing yoga in the first place. If you know me, I am a very goal-oriented person who always tries to hit milestones. But yoga was one of my few peaceful places where I did not measure my success toward a goal; instead, I enjoyed the process of learning!

But, it was taken from me! I was comparing myself with all those flexible women who proudly displayed their before/after photos of poses. They progressed a lot in 3 months. Why couldn’t I?

We have a result-focused society 

Our society puts much more value on achievements and results, from getting an “A” in primary school to making billions of money in adulthood. We appraised people who have six-packs more than someone who works out every day consistently. We are jealous of people who win the lottery, not those who know how to make money in years. It seems like all that matters is the results. So in such reality, the sooner you get to the end, the better. In other words, the times you spend on the journey are just a waste!

But, this mindset has put us in trouble.

1. We can’t enjoy our time.
   The reality is we are spending most of our time striving to achieve our goal. If we see these efforts as a waste of time, we can’t enjoy them. That means we are spending our time doing something we don’t want. 
2. You hit your goal, then what?
   If we are so attached to see results, there is no point in practicing and improving after hitting our goal. This is the reason many people lose what they have gained. They have no more goals.
3. We put our focus only on the gap but not the gain.
   Instead of seeing our progress and enjoying our achievements, we only see what we miss. Successful people evaluate their next steps, but they also admire how far they have come.
4. It becomes hard to stick to a habit.
   Most of the time, we don’t see any result at the beginning. If we are result-focused, we get discouraged and ready to quit.
5. We can’t handle failing.
   Failing is part of the process. When we put our focus on the process, each failure improves us instead of discouraging us.
6. Feeling stressed all the time.
   Giving all the attention to where we want to go puts a lot of pressure on us—creating two realities. One is where our goals reside, and the other is where we are now. This split makes us feel unsatisfied in our current situation. We think we have to reach our goals to become happy.
7. We can become the targets of scammers.
   Have you seen those ads with the promise of delivering significant results with no effort? Such as losing 50lb without exercise and diet or making a million without working and money. These scammers take advantage of some people who are so focused on the result instead of the process.

The reality is the results we get without the focus on the process does not worth the praise. Most of the time, the results are temporary.

Many lottery winners ended up being broke. 
Those who change their weight drastically often go back to their previous weight.
The A+ that we got by cramming the books on the night before the exam does not help us get a decent job.

Put your focus back on the process.

In the process of learning and improving, we shift our identity. We become a different person who plans wisely, learns from mistakes and knows the results’ value. If we only measure our process and carefully plan, the results will be inevitable.

When I got discouraged by Instagram yogis, I tried to put back my attention into practices. After all, those influencers are spending much more than 20 minutes on yoga. Yoga is probably their passion and profession. My purpose for Yoga was different.

If you are a 9-5 working person or a busy parent (or even both) who started to learn a new skill or a hobby, enjoy the process! Put your focus on the process of learning, and don’t compare yourself with professionals, with people who invest most of their time, money, and energy into something. If you are more serious, then adjust your effort and have a better plan. But remember to be persistent.

Behind Instagram’s beautiful picture, there are hours of practice.  That fit body is the result of years of clean eating, lots of sweating in the gym, and a great pose in front of the camera 😉 in addition to all the editing and good lighting they have. If you can’t stop comparing yourself with Instagram influencers, here is some suggestions for you.

1. Take a break from Social media. Stop scrolling on Instagram for a few days or deactivate it for a while if you can. Interestingly, you would be less tempted to check Instagram after this period.
2. Take some excellent pictures of yourself at a time when you feel at your best. Keep them close, so you can take a peep when not feeling great. Remind yourself pictures we see every day is just a moment in someone’s life. It does not show you the time, the effort they put into preparing that picture.
3. If someone on social media does not make you feel good, unfollow their posts or accounts.
4. Enjoy the process! You are a collection of good things. The goal is not to be perfect in everything but to improve and try for the things you value.
5. Be patient!

What are your tips to not get so caught up in the perfect images of Instagram?