The Danger of Pinterest

Don't get me wrong here, I love Pinterest just as much as the next girl. But, I'm realizing that there is a danger hidden away inside of its boards. Sometimes, I find myself feeling bad about myself and my life that its not like what I see on the pins.

I don't have an unlimited amount of cute clothes. Why don't I have cuter clothes? Why do I not have enough money to spend on such pretty dresses?

I could never get my house to look like that.

I don't have a closet just for my shoes. I wish I did.  

Hey, why don't we have a slide in our closet that leads to a pool?

and so on, and so forth.

Sound familiar?

Now, I'm not asking for anyone to boycott pinterest. That would be ridiculous... and hypocritical. Its not the creators fault. And there is so much beauty, inspiration, recipes and great information that can be found on there. Lets be honest here, how many weddings have been planned on pinterest? Yeah, that's what I thought. Its like a one stop shop for anything and everything girly, and now even some manly.

But, we need to be careful.  We need to guard ourselves against the trap that so often we fall into.  Our lives are not a board on pinterest. They are not streamlined with only the best of the best showing through. Our lives are messy. Our lives have the best, the worst and the in-between all poking through. And you know what? That's beautiful. That's incredible, really. Life is such an amazing gift, and if we have the time and resources to be on pinterest, our life is probably a lot better than we realize.

And please, don't fall into the "Thinspiration" or the "Thigh Gap" trap. I see these types of boards and it truly scares me. Motivation to work out is one thing, setting unattainable goals is another. These can lead to dissapointment, depression, and eating disorders. Please realize that you are beautiful already. Work out and eat healthy to make your body healthy and fit, not to achieve a non-existent photoshopped ideal. *Steps off soapbox*

If you think this sounds familiar, that's because it is. This is the same thing as not falling for the trap that can be set by magazines, television, and pretty much any form of media. We are not those women and men, that is not an accurate representation of life. And that is okay. That is wonderful.

So, next time your browsing on pinterest and you fall into the "I wish", "Why Don't I", and the feeling sad/upset/ashamed that its not your life or you can't afford that, I want you to take a moment to remember just how lucky you are. Take a quick inventory of everything you are thankful for in your life. Take a moment to get everything in perspective. Then you can smile, relax, and keep browsing.