Running, The Outdoors, And Social Media

Let me just start off by saying that I love social media.  Facebook and Instagram (I don't mess around with Twitter too much) are great for keeping up with the lives of my friends and family.  I've also been introduced to several new products and businesses through social media and it's a great way for businesses and individuals to promote and market themselves.  Another thing I love about it is having a way of sharing my life online with other people.  Now, anyone who follows my social media knows that I'm pretty engaged.  The support that I get is always very positive, but I'm not naïve.  I know there's probably a few people out there who are thinking "Dude, okay, we get it.  You like to run a lot.  You like mountains.  You like the outdoors.  What are you trying to do with all this?"

What you see on my social media is my life.  It's my reality.  It's not attention or acclaim that I'm seeking.  I share my life on social media to inspire people.  When people I admire share their lives on social media, it inspires me, so why wouldn't I want to do the same damn thing?  I'm an accountant for a tech company, not a philosopher, but one thing that I have a strong belief in, is people who have passions and hobbies are generally happier and healthier than those who lack those two things.  The message I'm trying to send when I post on social media isn't so much "look how much fun I'm having or how awesome I am" it's more like I'm saying "I'm out here doing what I love to do and I hope you're doing the same thing".  Whether you're into vintage movies, fashion, cooking or eating exotic foods, or knitting blankets, my personal belief is that everyone should want to share their passions on social media.  If you're into music, share your favorite records or artists.  If you're into painting, share photos of your paintings.  If you like playing soccer, share photos from your games.  

Another reason why I'm so engaged on social media is because I believe in transparency.  I like to be out in the open with what's going on in my life, and I like to keep people in the loop.  Despite my open book mentality, there are a few areas of my life that even I like to keep private.  For example, most runners are familiar with the oh so wonderful app known as Strava.  Strava is awesome.  I love how accurately it tracks runs (and numerous other activities, including biking, snowboarding, and even paddling).  The amount of data and statistics the app provides is quite impressive.  There is, however, another aspect of Strava that I refer to as the "social media" aspect.  This includes all of your data being out there for everyone to see if you so choose, and the ability for others to give you "kudos" on your activities.  People can see pictures of my adventures on social media if they want, and that's enough for me.  I don't need everyone to know exactly how far and how fast I run.  Thus, I have my Strava profile set on private mode and use it strictly for tracking purposes.  

So, what I would say to everyone, no matter how old or young you are, where you live, etc. is if you haven't found your passions yet, keep looking.  You'll find them eventually, probably sooner than you think.  If you already have passions and you follow them, that's awesome!  No matter what your passions are or what your life is, I would encourage people to put their lives out there on social media for others to see.  I can guarantee you that people will dig it.  You'll probably end up inspiring more people than you thought and it might just be what some people need to turn things around in their own lives.