It's been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it... NOT

  If you've been checking Facebook between Christmas dinner and board games with the (extended) family, you have been likely to see that 'It's been a great year' thing. You might even have shared one yourself - no judgement! ;) While it's a very sweet (bleh) of Facebook to try and infuse our lives with some joy at the end of year (with all the good and bad things that happened in the past 12 months), I have an issue with its 'template' approach and assumption that everyone had a great year and all your contacts on Facebook have been a part of it. Have you even watched everyone else's slideshow?... Exactly!... ;)

There have been quite a few articles on how Facebook and social media in general feed anxiety,  amplify lower self-esteem and narcissism, and so on and so forth. Focusing on making our life look good in the social media, we forget how it is to spend time with our friends over a cup of tea not rushing anywhere and just spending time, we rarely spend time just on our own and we certainly feel the growing pressure to live up to the life we've created on Facebook (or the lives our friends project).

Don't get me wrong - more than anyone I am a big fan of social media, but I am not a big fan of  'it's -all-gonna-be-okay-let's-continue-living-in-a-bubble' approach. In fact (in the words of Jessie J):

When it comes to my year - I cannot complain. I never will - with its wins and losses, seeing people come and go, trusting and being hurt, but battling through and winning.

I encourage your to stop for a second. To accept your year the way it has been - with the moments of disappointment, sadness, anger, frustration - you name it. Then - to embrace the moment you are in. Then - to keep going! Live your life, make mistakes, enjoy the moment!

And finally:

Happy New Year!