Social Media: My Virtual Vision Board

Earlier this year I made a goal sheet about two pages long, divided up into long-term and short-term, with subcategories, dates and color-coding. Ok, I'm a tad type-A. One of these goals included creating a vision board. My intention was to buy a cork board upon which I would post up photos and clippings of things that represented goals I wished to attain, goals accomplished and things that would inspire those goals in an effort to keep myself motivated. It was early January. I was feeling ambitious. As is the case with most of our new-year, new-me intentions go, it ended up on the low-priority list. However, I’m proud to say that I eventually completed it after many months of procrastination.

What I didn’t realize is that, in a way, I had been actively contributing to (and benefiting from) my vision board all year long. Only I was using a different, more public medium: social media.

Only, on social media, a different term has emerged to define this kind of visionary “projection,” it’s called image-crafting. Image-crafting, in the context with which I’ll be using it, is the process of creating a public image or persona for oneself through social media posts, tweets, status updates and photos or videos on Pintrest, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, etc.  However, in contrast to physically producing photos or quotes on a vision board, I was sharing similar information about myself in a more active and public format through social media. For example, instead of tacking a piece of a paper with an inspirational quote on it or a sheet of sides for an audition I was particularly proud of onto my vision board, I would post it to Facebook.

I became hyper aware of my own of image-crafting when I read a blog on the Huffington Post called, 7 Ways To Be Insufferable on Facebook (full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/annoying-facebook-behavior_b_4081038.html) Just like it sounds, the article painstakingly and very humorously pointed out all of the ways in which we Facebook users are egregiously abusing the privilege of the status update. I cringed at the idea that I was probably among the culprits. The author breaks these annoying abuses into several categories and subcategories such as the “humble brag,” “the cryptic cliffhanger,” “the literal status update,” “the incredibly obvious opinion,” and my favorite, “the out of nowhere Oscar acceptance speech.” I want to focus on the “brag” – more specifically, the “I’m living quite the life” brag.  I identify with this one the most, because well, my life is PERFECT!

- cue crickets -

Alright. Ya got me. Slight exaggeration. Truth be told, I have mounds of student loan debt, I am still without health insurance and as a struggling actress, I’ve worked all kinds of odd jobs to pay them pesky bills. And let me tell you, working in the service industry is a very, VERY humbling experience. I'm also a regular human being with insecurities and moments of self-doubt. Shocker.  Now you know the real me. Kind of.   

But hey, it’s 2013 and we’re all much more plugged-in, social media savvy people. I’ll bet that you’ve posted a success story or twenty on Facebook before, eh? Maybe a hilarious Some ECard or some words of wisdom that helped you through a tough time? I would also bet that you’ve run into an old friend or an acquaintance in person and had a conversation that went something like this: “Hey how are you? What’s new?”…”Not much. But I’ve seen your Facebook updates and you seem to be doing quite well!!” For some of you, it’s very true. You are killing it at life – maybe a parking ticket or two but for the most part, you have little to complain about. For others, there’s often a moment of having that inner monologue that says “Should I tell her that I just lost my job? Does he have to know that I can’t pay my mortgage or that my kid just got suspended?  I really think it’s best that I leave out the fact that I just got divorced…”

As an actress who updates her status on the daily, I go through this on almost a weekly basis. Because for me, social media is platform to share my successes, even the small ones, with my friends. Not because my life is so interesting or I’m so amazing and talented, but because it’s like a mini-celebration that, in my mind, gives me the opportunity to put something positive out into the universe for whomever cares to read it.  Conversely, it gives me the opportunity to support the people within my network of friends and followers by leaving them an encouraging comment or even something as simple as a “like.” It is my belief that one cannot celebrate the victories that life has to offer enough. Now there’s an entire Internet community out there to celebrate with. And who doesn’t love a party?   

While I am no way insinuating that social media can or should replace good ‘ol face-to-face action or individual self-reflection, it can serve as a unique way to connect, communicate and project the kind of positivity that you would like to ultimately see penetrate every area of your life, career and relationships.  

And what, if anything, are we here for if not to celebrate and share what you are most passionate about in life with the world? That might mean landing your dream job or completing your first 10k.  Positivity is contagious. If used correctly and respectfully, the concept of image-crafting through social media, whether you’re marketing yourself or your business, can yield substantial, even life-altering results. I have signed with a talent manager, gotten auditions, career referrals, a meeting with a very successful TV screenwriter and a job hosting a nationally-syndicated talk show all as a direct result of sharing the mini victories surrounding what I am most passionate about in life on social media. Of course all of this was coupled with hard work and persistence over a long period of time, but the point is, I shared the precious pieces of my vision board with the universe, and the universe replied.