Do you ever feel like you are on the wrong track? Like the time and effort you’re putting into your goals is not worth the reward? I came to the realization that striving for this influencer role on Instagram caused confusion, lack of passion, and a deep sense of overwhelm. Read on to find out how quitting social media led me here.
Niche Down
We’ve heard most Instagram gurus encourage us to niche down. Find a niche you are passionate about any stick to it. When I started Instagram, I had a this blog and my niche was home decor. I stayed on that track faithfully until 2020 when I quit teaching. After quitting, my love for teaching grew, I missed children’s literature and creating fun lessons. To feed that longing, I wrote an ebook to help teachers build classroom community through read alouds. I created lessons pairing standards with great literature and I decided to incorporate this into my Instagram posts. The thing is, I went back and forth about what to posts. Whether or not I was doing the “right” thing to help my account grow and reach the right audience. That’s where my confusion set in.
What’s My Audience?
I started posting children’s literature to my decor account thinking I could reach decor moms. I started posting productivity ideas and the lessons I created to my stories, too! Then I began to second guess myself. What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Who is this helping? I went down the rabbit hole of feeds searching for answers and this what led to overwhelm. so, why did quitting social media lead me here?
Social Media isn’t fun!
Instagram was no longer fun! I was torn between posting about decor and posting about teacher stuff. What is my blog going to be about? Should I incorporate both? This lead me to open a second teacher account which only made me feel worse because that account rarely got likes, views, or any engagement. It made me unsure of my knowledge and whether or not I wanted to share it.
Soon after that, I quit Instagram. My husband and I moved to a rural town and I felt a sense of calm and clarity, I wanted to share rural life and creating our homestead so I opened my account again. All the previous feelings I mentioned came rushing back so, I quit again!
I’m Quitting Social Media!
It is safe to say that Instagram stole my passion. Since quitting I have a clear sense and idea of what I want to accomplish. I am no longer confused about my niche, or direction as a blogger. God has been pulling me toward this direction of helping teachers flourish and I couldn’t hear him over the noise of Instagram. I can see things so clearly now, I know what I stand, I know who I serve, and I know that I am on the right track.
Now What?
Since quitting Instagram, I have no desire to return. My passion for helping teachers flourish has been reignited and there is no sign of stopping. Instead of scrolling, I spend my time reading new books, gardening, creating digital products, and most importantly enjoying life.
Thanks for stopping by!
