After spending a few weeks on Instagram I have become hyperaware of ‘influencers’. In Australia, and in my line of work, I don’t really hear much about them, except the occasional story when one gets arrested returning from an overseas travel trip that ‘sponsors’ paid for (sponsors who turned out to be drug dealers). There are also stories where influencers get busted for not paying taxes on their income (‘six figure’ incomes they’ve been boasting about online for months). There’s also a ridiculous amount of articles in my news feed that relate to something called “gym etiquette” and how it is, or isn’t, cool to walk in front of someone filming themselves working-out in a public gym. Apparently, it’s gotten so argumentative that some gyms now have ‘no-influencer-filming’ rules. As a chronically-unfit chronic-pain person, the whole idea is slightly ludicrous, but I have no doubt it’s real.
One of my two daughters thinks influencers are pretty influential, and some of her friends seem to refer to ‘being an influencer’ as a career option (which it probably is). My other daughter pays them no mind.
I suspect that some of the criticism influencers receive is the result of ignorance, jealousy, or all of us being a little #blessed-fatigued. Can their life really be that impressive? All the time? Where do they get their apparently limitless energy? They definitely have a different fuel tank to me!
But then I got to thinking; what if I borrowed some of their amazing self-confidence and “oomph”. What if I believed, truly believed, that what I say and do can make a difference? What if I pretended to be an influencer… just for a few minutes.
Don’t worry, I don’t have the time, money or inclination to fly to the Eiffel Tower to ‘take a selfie’. Instead, I decided to give myself a little selfie-tutorial and mock-up a pretend photoshoot. And since I can’t hide behind a mandala for every post; the results of my ‘photoshoot’ are down below. As the pictures show, it was nighttime, I didn’t bother doing anything special with my clothes, hair or makeup. I just stood in front of a curtain and told myself to take photos for ten minutes while no one was watching. The first few are the ‘normal’ me; the hesitant, low self-esteem, ‘ugh I hate being photographed’ version of me. But then I imagined someone saying, “come on, you can do better than that, you’re trying to convince people that you’re healthy and happy – you’re trying to make people believe that if you can get better so can they – work the camera lady, work the camera!”
(Let’s be honest for a moment and recognize the ridiculous drum-roll eye-roll moment that comes from realizing that my idea of ‘work the camera’ equates to ‘wrap yourself inside the curtains and do your best to vanish’… but there it is. Live and learn baby, live and learn.)
A professional photographer would probably be appalled at my poor lighting and grey-on-grey setting, and my family will cringe at my over-sharing, but once you decide it’s ‘just for fun’ you CAN ‘loosen up’ and have a laugh. Of the series, the last photo is my favorite. Even though they’re all ‘me’, it’s the last one that says what I was aiming for; ‘this is me and I’m getting healthier and happier all the time’.
That’s what I’m after – for me and for you.
‘ME’ flipped upside down reads ‘WE’ after all.
Why not do your own selfie-photoshoot? Try it (no need to share). It’s a great way to remind yourself that being in pain doesn’t have to be completely painful. Moreover, it’s also a way to remind yourself that you’re already an influencer, for your family and friends, but also yourself. If you’re going to send a message, why not make it as positive as possible.
Take care and keep smiling, Linda x
The Mindful Migraine 
Leave a comment