Highlight Reel...

"You're highlight reel on Facebook looks great.  How is life really going for you?"  Those words being said to me last week were actually a huge compliment and allowed me to give a person some insight into my life.  It is a conversation that had me feeling pretty good about where I'm at.

We live in a world right now where we see a lot of highlight reels on social media.  For many, it is just that, highlights, and behind the scenes it is messy and broken.  We feel as though we have to be perfect and have it all together in front of everyone and only show the good parts.  The individual I was talking thought that is what I was doing because people aren't as happy as I "appear" to be.  I welcome you to look at my pictures and what some may think is a facade.

Here's the truth.  It's not my highlight reel; it's my life.  This doesn't mean that I don't have negative things happen in life or have tough moments.  The difference is that those difficulties don't make my day.  I get to choose if my life is going to be positive or negative and if I'm going to be happy or not.  I have found my joy and that does not lie in those around me or what happens day to day.  My joy is inside me.  I have found me and am happy every day.  We can choose to let the tough stuff rule and run our lives and pretend that everything is ok when life is eating away at us inside.  We can also choose to let those few moments be just that, a few bad moments and not let them have power over us.

I have made a choice to live my life as an adventure.  Some days are epic adventures filled with activity and laughter and others are an adventure of relaxation spent cuddling with my loved ones.  My life is happy because that is the choice I have made.  We don't need to arrive at some destination to be happy.  We have all we need right in front of us.  My family and friends are all I need.  (Well, maybe my bike too...).

I am unapologetically, authentically who I am.  Some days there is makeup and hair done and others not so much.  I promise you my "highlight reel life" has pictures of both and is my real life.  I want people to see the real me, which also means the me that just rolled out of bed in the morning to get to the gym for my 5:30 am training group.

My challenge for you is to take a look at your social media and your life.  Is it your highlight reel on your social media?  Are you hiding behind the few fun moments or trying to make it look like everything is great when it's really not?  If you are not happy with what you discover, it's time to make some changes to have your whole life feel like the highlights.

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