Why Aren't You Using Your Platform?

{Basically all of my blog posts/"deep thoughts" these days start with the same sentence: "I was listening to a podcast the other day and..." I know it's getting old, and yet, today's post is going to start the exact same way. Here goes!}

I was listening to an episode of Being Boss the other day, and the guest, Life Coach Jay Pryor, said the following: 

"These days, everyone has a platform--it's free--so the only reason that you're not using yours is because you don't want to."

This really struck me. I was reminded that in our current version of the world, if you have something to say or something to share, you have a ready-made platform online. Whatever it is that you stand for, create, believe, or love can be shared with a few clicks, and if you're regular about those clicks and about your message, your passion will eventually build a community of like-minded individuals. 

Knowing this--knowing that you have the ability to step up onto your platform at any point--is very empowering. You can make the choice whether or not to use your platform and how you want to use it.

But that's the thing: if you're not using your platform it's important to acknowledge that you're making a choice and you're saying to the world that you don't want to. {Which is totally fine! This is your choice to make and deciding not to use it is totally valid and great!}  

Because that's the other thing about your platform: you can use it for whatever you want. You can use it to be political, to stand for what you believe, to share your story in order to teach people to be more open or accepting, to grow your business, to display your creations or artistic endeavors, to make people laugh, to become the go-to resource for kitten videos, whatever you want. And this is exciting.

There's a big conversation around blaming social media and the internet for making our attention spans so short, for making us slaves to our phones, for distracting us with the endless scroll and giving us a way to escape the present and what happens 'IRL' ("In real life," which is now a term we need because so much happens online). And I'm the first to admit that I have said, probably many times, "If I didn't have to be on social media for my work, I would get off."

But when I really think about it, deep down I know that's not true, because I am super grateful for the free platform that social media has given me and for the ways in which it has changed my life for the better. In fact, how I make my living didn't exist 20 years ago, and I know I have the internet to thank for this life that brings me so much fulfillment. 

So, here's what I want to ask you today: if you aren't using your platform, why have you made the choice not to? Is it an intentional choice? If so, what is the reason behind it?  

If you are using your platform, it's worth thinking back on why you chose to use it and how it has helped you. If it's not helping you and is only hurting you, why might that be?

It's time we take ownership over our choices and experiences when it comes to social media and living life online. I'm ready to own up to the part I play in all of this, stop the social media bashing, and express my gratitude for the free platform that I've been given; how about you?