Balancing Your Life with Social Media || with Brooke White

It’s one thing to know that our devices are getting in the way of our relationships, work, and creative outlets.  But it’s another to successfully do something about it.

Brooke White knows the struggle well.  As an independent musician (she got her big break on American Idol ten years ago) and business woman (Girls with Glasses!), social media is a big part of her creating a committed online community that supports her work.

But even with all that on the line, earlier this year Brooke found herself in a predicament: what started as a way to personally connect with her loved ones and beloved fans, social media was now robbing her of the life right in front of her.

So Brooke decided to do something about it, starting with a month-long fast that quickly changed everything.

Brooke and I planned on a 30 minute discussion on what she learned from her fast and how she is now attempting to still have social media in her life, but not BE her life.  But as we dug into it, we had to quickly own that this topic involves a very layered, complicated relationship that all of us can relate to.  Beyond it just being about prioritizing time, balancing our lives with social media entails a much deeper work including evaluating our purpose, owning our insecurities, and refusing to settle for a life numbed-out.

Because of this, we chose to separate our chat into two parts.

Part One:  Brooke shares her history of using social media as a way to share so purely her life with others, and how this pursuit so gradually took over her ability to be present with her real life.  She talks about a few moments where she had to accept that she needed to change her focus, not just with her social media use but with her life as well.

Part Two: Brooke talks about what her social media break taught her, including some heart-breaking lessons.  She discusses the struggle she’s encountered as she steps back into her online life while still trying to balance her greater priorities, and what has worked for her.  Finally, she openly shares the difficult lessons she has learned the past few years about how accepting herself fully–faults and all–is the key to really, truly moving forward with a richer, happier life.

You can listen to both parts below, or on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Pocketcasts, Googleplay, or search for “About Progress” wherever you get your podcasts.  If you like the show please share it, subscribe, and leave a review!!


 

Song Credit: “Sweet Promise” and “Warm Lights” by Nicolai Heidlas