I was cyber bullied! (rant)

Personal development gurus and wise parents have warned for decades (if not centuries) to be selective about who you surround yourself with.  We are not only judged by our association but can be heavily influenced, for bad and for good.

This is a little off-fitness-topic but I recently had an interesting experience on social media where I was the target of a personal attack by someone who should have known better.  I don't live and die by social media, though I enjoy cat videos and pretty pictures of France :) But up popped a post from someone I have known for years, professionally and personally, and it came from her 'guru' Facebook business page.  Her comments were inappropriate and mean spirited.

She tagged me so that the post would have appeared on my personal page – it wasn’t particularly subtle and while I have no idea what prompted the swipe, I also don’t care.  I value myself too much to want to engage in that kind of high school pettiness, though at first I found myself to be shocked and upset.

On hearing of Rebel Wilson’s successful legal battle against magazine Woman's Day, one commentator made the point that the general public thrives on negativity - that negative gossip, bitchy media, and a vicious interest in the pain of others abounds in our environment.

Negativity sells.   That’s a fact.  And there are plenty of people out there who will try and build themselves up by pulling others down.

But you can buy into it or choose to remove yourself from that influence.

I suppose some of my shock came from the interruption to the bubble I live in - I run my own business and I’m fortunate enough to be able to choose exactly who I spend time with.  And I prefer to spend time with authentic, good quality people.

And yes, that’s a pat on the back for all my clients who make my job so easy.  And yes again, I’m very lucky to be able to construct a life like that, I appreciate that not everyone can.

We live in a world that is dominated by social media, where anyone with a keyboard can publicly spout any dubious 'guru wisdom' they want.  We have all manner of on-line personalities that perpetuate their carefully constructed “brands”.  I have met many such on-line personalities, and few of them are what they appear to be.

 If you are spending a lot of time on social media, then choose your association very carefully.

Chances are, you are comparing your “inside life” with someone else’s carefully crafted, beautifully edited and probably totally false “outside life”.

We are surrounded by images and personalities that are FAKE.  If you’re letting this affect your self worth then you need to stop.

Value what is real.  Learn from people who lift you up and help you discover the best YOU can be, so that you in turn, can lift others.

Be a go-giver rather than go-getter.

Let’s work on building healthy characters as well as healthy bodies.

Peace out, rant over :)