5 Pieces of Advice for 2022

5 pieces of advice to carry with us into 2022:

Think in abundance.

Tiwalola - https://bit.ly/3mJz217

When we think in abundance, it’s much easier to see that there is room for all of us at the top.

It’s much easier to realise that someone else winning doesn’t mean that we are losing. 

After all, our success is not dependent on someone else’s failure, it’s dependent on us seeing our own potential and working hard to achieve it.

Once we understand this, it also becomes clear that there is no harm in successful people being loud about it. In fact, it’s actually helpful to those looking to follow in their footsteps.

When people who are doing good are open about how they are doing it, they help bring others up with them.

Nobody wins when women and girls are insecure, but everybody wins when those with the tools to do so speak up and share their knowledge.

The online space is a continuation of our offline realities.

Seyi Akiwowo - https://bit.ly/3xk7F1z

It’s important to remember that the issues we face online are not born exclusively out of the existence of social media. Often, they originate from the problems already present in the offline world.

So, when we ask that all-important question: “What is it about social media that makes people comfortable enough to participate in trolling?”, we need instead to be asking, “What is it about society, and the digital world we are building as an extension of it, that makes people feel comfortable enough to abuse others?”.

The answer, too, is far more nuanced than a simple round of the digital blame game.

Yes, social media has a part to play, but it is simply intensifying the issues already prevalent in the offline world.

The solution then needs to be multi-pronged. It needs to account for both the online and the offline world.

Click with compassion.

Alex Holmes - https://bit.ly/3qrKoZT

That means being kind to both yourself and others in the way we engage with social media.

It means following accounts that make us feel good and blocking and muting those that do the opposite.

It means thinking before we comment; asking ourselves if what we are about to say is kind or helpful to the person who is going to read it.

And it means considering what you are adding to conversations before pressing share on a post.

Not only will this ensure that we are protecting those on the other side of the screen, but also ourselves.

The algorithm doesn’t know how something is making us feel, it just knows that we are spending time looking at it. If you are clicking with compassion, your algorithm is going to be showing you things that make you feel good. If you are looking at things that make you feel sad, then your algorithm is going to prioritise that.

We should be encouraging young people to use social media.

Gary Neville - https://bit.ly/3cmteVp

Social media isn’t going anywhere, and we need to accept that. 

In fact, the sooner we do, the better.

It is the cornerstone of the digital world our younger generations are growing up within, and by denying them the ability to explore it in full, we are doing them a disservice.

If we want them to succeed in the future, we need to be encouraging them to use it to fulfill their values, pursue their passions, create supportive communities, form deep connections, and propel their careers.

Social media has the potential to act as their digital CV, showing employers a clear and diverse indication of who they are as people, what they are interested in, and the sort of communities they are active members of.

It’s a key communication tool, and we should want them to be confident in using it.

Yes, there is an element of risk associated with it - as there is with everything - but by attempting to actively discourage young people from exploring it, we are doing the opposite of protecting them.

We are sheltering them to the point in which they risk being unable to fend for themselves.

Values are fundamental.

Lucy Sheridan - https://bit.ly/3dFfg1C

I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing your values. It’s something I didn’t work on until later in life, but something I know would have helped me in so many ways had I known to do so earlier.

What Lucy says about them in her episode really solidifies this:

Comparison wants to take us outside ourselves - knowing your values helps to keep you grounded within your own life. 

They are what Lucy describes as Prized Personality Pillars - something to anchor ourselves to, grow with, and check in on.

It gives you confidence because you know what’s important to you and by intentionally living them, you are helping to shape your own success. In turn, you are able to see other people’s success as a reflection of them and their values, rather than a reflection of your perceived shortcomings.