Traveling with my people has been one of the best parts of raising a family. For the last 18 years, sharing the adventures we have together, and exploring the world has brought us so much joy. For us, 2022 was a lot of pent-up wanderlust and had a lot of change. A season of some very good and big transitions, and it tested us all in many ways. Over the past few years, I had a lot of starts and stops with projects and goals I wanted to do personally, which was frustrating, but now realize that I need to trust the process as it unfolds. I gave myself permission to press pause when my body and mental health were telling me that my energy was required in other areas. What was one of the biggest time and energy wasters? Scrolling social media.
So, in 2022, I intentionally decided to stop scrolling my social media feeds.
I also didn’t post much, engage or comment on posts. With the exception of posting a few key family milestones to document graduations, big birthdays, a few sunsets/fun work events, and our Italy trip, I stopped habitually scrolling, creating content, and posting my daily life and our trips and focused on staying in the moment. I got quiet.
And here’s what happened.
I started to feel lighter. I had more time to THINK. To write. I had more time to focus on what was happening in my own world, stop the external noise, and go deep into finding what brought me joy and what I needed more of in my life. I needed all my energy to love my family and myself through this big season of change. I intentionally sought out positive resources, relationships and experiences, focused less on what I “should do,” recalibrated on my people and finding my true north in this next season.
In 2022, I gave myself permission to wade into the deep end of being comfortable with uncomfortable, turned down the volume on the noise of online chatter, and created space to listen to my own voice.
Untethering from the personal habit of sharing and scrolling was uncomfortable at first like I was “missing out.” FOMO is real – what if I need to know something important, or I’m out of the loop about what friends are doing? As a content creator, it also brought up anxiety that I was not making progress on my goals, going to “lose opportunities,” and not doing enough to keep up with what everyone was doing.
Comparison had become the thief of my joy.
With more space to hear my own voice, I started to feel much more centered and calm. I gained the confidence to focus on the people, my work, and things that bring me joy and where I want to put my energy – the best parts of life.
(Full disclosure – social media is part of my day job so I could not completely unplug, but I did find a way to do my job while personally pressing pause on scrolling my own personal feeds).
Today, I’m sharing the best parts of 2022. This is a highlight reel of our best-in-the-moment adventures last year where we connected as a family in the shared experience of travel.
Putting this reel together makes me realize that amidst big change, how much we dug into being present in experiencing life together this year. It was a season for change, growth, and going inward so that we could recalibrate and prepare for our next season.
When we make a shift, it can come with a variety of negative feelings, mixed emotions, and a whole lot of fear. But this shift to be more present and less tethered to “keeping up” on social media equipped me with the clarity to be present and manage through the big life changes we were navigating.
This shift allowed me to:
- Gain new perspective, clarity and focus.
- Find what I truly needed, valued, and loved, not allowing others to define that for me.
- Be present in the moment, reducing anxiety.
- Savor this last year together as a family before we launched our oldest daughter into adulthood. We miss the day-to-day as we were, but we are also excited for the future of what we are BECOMING.
Now when I find myself scrolling, I try to do so with intention. I stop to think about what I’m consuming and how it makes me feel. It’s a work in progress, but recognize it’s all part of the journey.
I’m excited to return to social media @hiptravelmama more mindfully now in 2023. Be sure to follow along on the “gram to share your thoughts, for more travel reels and travel fun! – Anne