You don't need to tell me I work in an industry that relies on comparison, fake feed, and filtered-to-perfection portrayal. I know.
I know this so well that I can tell you that I've had employers request that I either crop myself out of the photo or reshoot the photo entirely. Did I mention the photo was for my feed? Not the brand's?
As Blackbear once said, "Don't @ me, don't doubt me."
Insecurity Running the Industry
Despite the words above, I'm not here to affirm what you already think. Insecurity is not my enemy.
Insecurity was my adversary for YEARS. I have a vivid memory of how it began. A woman on the beach asked me if I was a collegiate athlete... Ouch. Any of my colleagues would react by looking up every photo of themselves and deleting any that hinted the slightest edge of athleticism. None of us want to be mistaken for athletes. Not that being an athlete is undesirable, but because it's not who we are. None of us want to be mistaken for someone we are not.
We don't put blood, sweat, and tears into our day. We put colors, creativity, self-expression, and lots of tears into our day.
What you do should be a reflection of you. When its not, there's insecurity.
Whether you're a content creator or not, that statement resonates with you. I'm not saying this to name-call or chastise you. I'm saying this to confront what you refuse to address.
Insecurity is crippling. I would know because I almost let it personally attack me today.
Insecurity is not the enemy though. Lack of truth is.
Insecurity Is Not You-Truth
Insecurity is not truth. It's not even close. It's that little voice in your head who is fed by anxiety. Whatever you're anxious about, I'll guess is related to your insecurity. It's deafening. It makes you want to give up. It's the reason thousands of our youth are locked up in hospital units kindly labeled as "stabilization units."
It's for our own life that we overcome insecurity. Insecurity has no place in your life. It just likes to creep in. It influences our thoughts and what we believe to be "truth." Insecurity is an influencer. Probably the best example of one.
The more you can think of insecurity as an influencer in your feed of life, the less reliable it becomes. Takes one to know one, right? And I am one. So trust me when I say this: insecurity is the enemy's most prized demon. Insecurity influences how we think, behave, and decide. If we follow Insecurity on the app called Life, it's game over.
Instead, we need to follow Truth.
Truth says this about you:
- you are beautiful (Song of Songs 4:7)
- you are worthy (Isaiah 43:1-7)
- you have a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11)
- you are so so so loved (Isaiah 54:10)
I pray you receive all the comfort and security.
All the peace,
AK.