Be Inspired, Not Discouraged

The other day I went on a walk with my neighbor and her daughter. Half way through the walk she's like 'girl you have a stain on your butt'. I laughed and said 'ahh well what can you do'. She laughed and said 'oh you make me feel so much better, I always have stains on me (aka mom life)

This little scenario got me thinking about how we tend to compare ourselves to others.
Have you ever went to someone's home and their house is in perfect order and you all of a sudden feel like a hot mess??
Brouse someones instagram and look at their perfectly edited life and feel like some how yours now is lacking something?

In the age of social media, it's become very easy to be discouraged versus inspired!
So how does one navigate through this world without falling into the comparison trap?

1) We all have an unedited side:
Behind every pretty picture is a real person.  For example as you read this, I am sitting here in my sweats, toys strewn everywhere and wondering if I put on deoderant this morning?  My daughter is having a playdate with her friend and wreaking havok in my sons room, while my toddler is probably "pooping on the toilet...not in"(that's a whole other story!!LOL).  Point being, who you are is enough, from the outside looking in you probably look better than you think!

2) Be Inspired, not Discoouraged
Next time you browse pinterest, or see someone who has it more "together" than you, look at it as an opportunity to be "inspired". Not discouraged.  Maybe you could afford to be a little more organized, or calm with your children.  Maybe you could afford a freshened "look".  The point  is, it's great that we can have all these resourses to help make us better women, mother's, student ect.

3) Focus on the "thing" not the person.
I tend to get hung up on things rather than people.  Let me explain.  When I want to get more organized, I search for organizational tips and methods.  When I need cooking inspiration, I search recipes.  Instead of being hung up on how amazing 'martha Stewart' is,  I seach for the very things that I want to learn or aspire to be like.  It wonderful to have role models and I genuinely believe that we become who we aspire to be like. However it's equally important not to get hung up on the person. It's easy to compare yourself to a person, but hard to compare yourself to a method, recipe, idea, ect.

The world has changed so much since I was a teenager. Though the times are changing, let the times not change us.  Be inspired but what you see, not discouraged!!

What effects has social media and the internet had on you over the years?