How to ensure that Social Media doesn’t kill your dreams!

Many people’s dreams are dying a slow, painless death daily, just by looking at the hours they commit to social media versus the hours they commit to the things they call their gaols. Many people have plenty of guilty pleasures and have somehow even vaccinated themselves from guilt with the mantra, “there is time for everything”. The question is if your distractions are enjoying a disproportionate time at the expense of the activities that translate to your goals, are you not fooling yourself?

Let’s make it really practical. Thank God you can check your phone for where your time is being spent. You can do a few very basic calculations right away for perspective.

1. IG versus books read or Personal Development? You planned to read 52 books this year. How many hours have you spent on books, and how much time have you spent on Instagram? Guess the book you really want to read this year is IG.

2. IG Stories, Reels, and TikTok versus Bible App? You planned to have a 365-day streak of bible study this year, together with a more intimate relationship with God involving prayer, worship, fasting, etc. You, however, check how far you are going on that journey compared to the IG Stories, Reels, and TikTok, and it’s clear that your distractions are eating your dreams for breakfast.

3. Movie Binges vs Business, Career, or financial progress? You planned to blow this year, but are you doing what will make you blow, or you are cooling off, and something is blowing you a breeze? How many hours have you committed to movie binges this year versus the hours you have committed to fine-tuning your craft? Are you on your way to becoming a professional observer, or are you living a life that can become a source of inspiration for others?

Distractions directly take away energy and steam from your dreams and goals. To achieve great things, you must learn how to deal with your distractions and keep your eyes on your goals.

One sure way to achieve your goals and stay above your distractions is to ensure that your goals are more exciting and more stimulating than your distractions. If your goals are less compelling and emotionally gripping than short-term distractions, the distractions will win. If your goals are not so clear that you are clear about what you lose every time you give your time to distractions, then you haven’t set your goals well. This is a great way to audit what you call your goals. Generic goals like losing 10kg and walking 10,000 steps per day will not work. You need to have goals that you see regularly and give you enough motivation to want to do them. Remember, these things being classified as distractions are other people’s work and goals. So, you only need to ensure your dreams are more interesting.

Your goals need to keep you on your toes and excited. You need to watch your goals and modify them like your IG stories. Your goals need to be pulling and pushing you like seasonal movies. Load your goals with ginger, or you will pander to your distractions. There is a fight for control of your life; who is going to win?

Kind Regards,

Adeolu Akinyemi.