treating the internet like a coffee shop
Just want to share a little reframe I had recently that might help other ppl! So I struggle to be online, and I'll be honest this wasn't something I expected to struggle with so much when stepping into coaching and business. I've always had social media, but I'm realizing now that the way I interact with it on a personal level is very different from what will make me successful on a business level. I use my personal pages to share some highlight-reel updates on my life, keep up with friends/family (recovering lurker), and maybe watch funny reels or scroll here and there. I never spent time in the comments, I never interacted with people I didn't know in real life, and I certainly wasn't being open or vulnerable in any way. I posted what felt safe and left it at that. So I have REALLY struggled with 1- showing up consistently online, 2- interacting with people I don't know (DMs, comments, etc) and 3- sharing more "real" content that isn't just trips/concerts/milestones and being vulnerable about new things I'm up to. The last few weeks I've been stuck in this cycle of knowing what will move the needle online (engaging with humans and sharing openly & honestly), but by the end of the day when I go to do it, I either have no mental/emotional/social battery left or I'm overthinking everything and making it weird by using language that isn't how I speak IRL. I also think my brain just struggles to conceptualize the vastness of the internet - to me its like the deep, dark, scary, open, unexplored ocean lol. SO here is my current solution: I have started to conceptualize the spaces online that I want to engage with as if they are physical places I can show up to in real life. Today I told myself "I am going to go hangout AT the Nursepreneur Lab from 11-12" and something about framing it that way just clicked in my brain. Next time I want to engage with people who are connected to my niche I will say "I am going to go hang at instagram/facebook this afternoon, share a little bit about myself, and see if there's anyone I connect with". I know this probably sounds silly or oversimplified even but I'm telling you its helping my brain and helping me show up 😂