If you scroll down to the bottom of your Facebook profile, past each year, including the one you started your account, you will see one word at the very bottom: “born.”
I remember feeling kind of shocked when I saw that for the first time. Why? Because Facebook was no longer an account of my daily life and connections. It wasn’t a photo scrapbook of the times I’d had in college or a collection of birthdays or acquaintances. Now, it was a database of my entire life, even the years of my life when “Facebook” might have conjured up images of someone with their nose in a novel rather than a social networking site.
Currently, there are over 1 billion Facebook users, and social media in general has become an ingrained part of our existence. However, technology does not have to dictate the way we think about our lives, and in fact, technology can be tweaked to become a more positive and kind resource for our day-to-day. It can also be a wonderful way to spread positivity to others. Today, I’m sharing all my tips and research on simple things you can do to spread positivity through social media, so the next time you stare at your computer screen, you feel inspired, rather than drained. Let’s get started!
Twitter Tips
- Twitter is unique because it’s forces you to be brief. Think of a simple, but positive topic and hold yourself to tweeting about it everyday for a certain amount of time. For example, every morning, start your day with, “Today I’m looking forward to…” or end it with, “Today I was thankful for…” Use a positive hash tag and watch it catch on. Tag your buds and encourage them to do it, too. This activity might seem small, but reflecting on what colors your life with beauty and then spreading it to your followers is a surefire way to fuel your life with something sweet.
- Depending on what motivates you, there are tons of Twitter users devoted to sending you motivational messages, articles, and advice at all hours of the day. Find them. Follow them. Retweet them. And then connect with them. Another option is to use a service where you can select whose tweets get sent to your phone. Choose the ones that make you feel like a winner, and you can get updates throughout the day with their inspiring words.
Related: 6 Ways to Grow Your Blog or Business Using Twitter
Pinterest Tips
Pinterest tends to be filled with lots of inspiration and pretty things to look at, but re-pinning pictures of caramel pancakes and off-the-shoulder dresses may not put that pep in your step that the website has the potential to. Try these:
- Create a board titled “positivity” and only add things to it that motivate you. You can search “positivity” on Pinterest (I found tons of inspiring things doing that!), or just sift through the things that pop up on your feed.
- Did you know you can create community boards on Pinterest? This means that you can invite people to pin to one board together. You could easily start a motivating board topic and then invite your pals to join.
- When you find something that speaks to you, go to that website. It’s one thing to stare at a pretty picture and feel happier, but it’s another thing if that picture comes from your new favorite website, full of positive goodness. Once there, leave a comment! You’ll certainly be spreading some love to the author and you’ll probably feel pretty good about your deed, too.
Related: 15 Ways to Be a Good Human Today
Email Tips
- Add a quote or some words of wisdom in your signature. Not only will it make you happier (especially when you’re sending business e-mails that make you want to fall asleep), but it’ll make your recipients smile, or at least think about, your little pearls of knowledge.
- You know those e-mail chain letters you used to get from your grandpa that had pictures of baby animals? Why not start one of your own? Instead of filling it with baby owl pictures, try something like this: “I’m thinking of you! Have a great day.” You could even urge your e-mail contacts to forward it to their friends and fam to continue spreading the positive love. Who knows? Maybe someone really needs that extra reassurance in their inbox today.
Facebook Tips
- This one should be obvious, but it’s not exercised quite enough: use Facebook to connect. Don’t just scroll mindlessley through your newsfeed thinking, “Wow she’s engaged?” “His new cat is cute. I want a cat.” “I like her dress.” “Who’s that…?” Instead, consider the people who have meant something in your life, especially the ones that may not be around so much anymore – old bosses, friends from college, kids you used to tutor, even relatives you haven’t seen in years. Then, send them a message and remind them that they’ve impacted your life. If that feels too vulnerable (push yourself!), then you could always be short and sweet and just let them know you’re thinking of them.
- Start a positivity/motivational group. It doesn’t have to be big (though, certainly it can be!) – just invite people who are interested and encourage people to join. Decide your theme and have your members post things that are related to it. For example, if you decide to use the positivity theme, you and your group members could post anything you all come across that encourages a positive lifestyle – e-books, music, blogs, organizations, books, quotes, photos, etc. I find tons of wonderful resources online that improve my life, but it’s all about sharing them, instead of just hoarding them under my “bookmarks” tab.
Related: 25 Ways to Have an Awesome Day
Other Ideas
- Take a screenshot of all the kind things people send you in emails or messages. Save all these compliments or pieces of motivation in a folder on your desktop. Refer to it in moments of self-doubt.
- Write a letter to yourself using FutureMe.org, which allows you to write an email to yourself and then select a day in the future for it to be delivered. Think of some encouraging things to say, and let yourself be surprised 6 months later after you’ve forgotten about it and find it sitting in your inbox. If you have something important coming up in the near future (grad school admissions? Getting married?) you could also write some encouraging words to remind yourself that everything is going to work out the way it should.
- Start a blog and spread your own take on positivity and motivation to the world (Sound familiar? ;))
Note: I already do all three of those things! You should, too. :]
Social media is an extremely powerful tool for spreading any kind of message, why not make it a positive one?
