Mental Overwhelm and Investing in Things That Matter

In my last post I talked a bit about social media and some of my thoughts after being off of it for 5 months now. I linked a podcast I was recently on if you guys wanted to listen, so if that interests you, you can go back to my last post and click the link there. I didn't go into a lot of depth on the benefits or change I've found in that blog post as I covered most of it in the podcast.

One thing being off social media has opened up for me is the mental capacity to really invest more. Social media took up a lot of my mental energy (and time, too!) and I didn't have much bandwidth left to invest in real life like I wanted to. I realized I was mentally exhausted most of the time from the opinions and interactions online and I felt like I was constantly processing all of these different things that would have hardly affected me otherwise. I felt mentally scattered and the urge to share or interact with social media was always running in the background of my mind. I was close to mental overwhelm most of the time as I was constantly at capacity.

I loved the benefits of social media as much as anyone else and I felt like I was intentional with why I was there and what I wanted to accomplish on it. I "met" many, many amazing women (most of you that are here found me on instagram) and had so many wonderful "friendships" and interactions there. But I realized that it was taking up too much mental space in my life and keeping me from investing in the areas that I said were my priority.

My overwhelm was not my home or my children, my overwhelm was my cluttered mind. I was good at the physical discipline of taking care of my home, I was good at gatekeeping the items coming into our home, I was good at keeping clutter at bay and all the things that typically produce overwhelm for moms. But mental clutter? That was a whole other thing! My focus was scattered, my thoughts bounced from one thing to another, my mind was overloaded with information, ideas, and opinions. I needed to take some things out of my mental home so I could focus on the things that really mattered to me just like you purge all the unnecessary things in your home or schedule to free up time and space for more important things.

With the "decluttering" of social media, I found I had this wonderful gift of mental space. It freed me up to intentionally think more about others in meaningful ways. It gave me room to look for opportunities to serve, do good works, and show myself friendly to others without it feeling like more mental load or things to keep track of. It wasn't added on top of everything else swirling in my mind, it shifted into being the forefront of my focus. This has enriched my life so much (and hopefully others as well!)

There is a mental shift that comes when you intentionally look at ways to invest in those around you. It takes training your mind to look and ears to listen for opportunities to be a friend. When a friend mentions they are sick, recognize the opportunity you have to love on them and take them a meal. When a friend mentions how much they need to wash their windows, offer to come help one day next week. Picking up flowers for a friend just because is my personal favorite. Small, simple bouquets can usually be had for just a few dollars at a grocery store. A small care package to far away family or friends, a hand written note in the mail just to say you were thinking of them (this is great for both local and distant friends!), an invitation for cookies and coffee or inviting people over for a meal. All of these require some level of forethought and intentionality on our part. These small acts of service and thoughtfulness begin weaving the fabric of friendship and community throughout our lives and we get better and better at recognizing the needs of others and ways that we can help meet those. I often think of the Scripture, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly..." in Proverbs 18:24 and also the verse about being zealous for good works in Titus 2:14.

These are the things that will build friendships and community that social media can't hold a candle to. These are the things that bring rich emotional fulfillment. These are the truly important things in life. We get one wonderful and precious life, let's live it with intention and clarity. Let's invest in our homes and communities with fervor and focus. Let's love well, right here where it matters. Let's build legacies, not followings. Let's be women of good works.