Ah, Pinterest, the app of hopes and dreams… all pinned away for future use.
Or not.
Lest you think I’m bashing Pinterest, let me assure you that I am not. I LOVE the app. I remember how excited I was when I first discovered it; it fulfilled all of my compulsive needs to squirrel away everything I ever found interesting online in one place.
I mean, everything.
The first few months of Pinterest, I collected virtually every page I found helpful, interesting, informative, or just cool.
And eventually, my Pinterest account resembled an episode of Hoarders: The Pinterest Edition. Virtual dumpsters were being parked outside of my Pinterest account, and a crew was waiting for the signal to haul the mess away.
Hoarding Counselor: “How long have you had this page pinned on the Top 10 uses for vinegar? And have you even glanced at this pin on ice sculptures in Peru?”
Me: “I just… I mean…one day I’ll…. I… can’t let go.” *sobs*
I found that my boards were stuffed to the gills with anything and everything that I found remotely appealing.
And I found that for me, my Pinterest problem was that it was TOO MUCH of a good thing.
The Pinning Pursuit: The issue with pinning anything I enjoy is that I never got to the point where I could actually enjoy the tips, tricks, activities, etc. because there were so damn many! I was pinning more pages than I could ever read, under the guise of “someday I’ll get to this”.
But the problem was, I’d never get to it, because I was too busy finding even more interesting things to pin. What was intended to be a helpful method of organizing online material evolved into a cycle of overwhelming mess, making me feel like I was cluttered, inefficient, and wasting lots of time.
Inferiority Complex: The more I viewed pins depicting the beautiful, crafty, and organize lives that other moms are apparently living, the worse I felt about my OWN life. I’m not crafty- no one wants to see me attempt to wield a glue gun- but before Pinterest, ignorance was bliss. Once I observed other moms pinning pages of brilliant, healthy snacks, projects, and impeccably organized children’s rooms, the more insecure I felt about my OWN lack of skills.
But lest you thinking I’m bashing Pinterest or crafty moms, I can assure you that I’m not. I’ve learned that while I truly admire their skills, that’s not me, and more importantly, I’m ok with that.
I still use Pinterest. A lot. And I still love it. A lot. But I’m no longer interested in trying to become someone I’m not on Pinterest. My boards now genuinely reflect my real interests and goals.
Case in point: Pinterest sends emails indicating what your “most pinned” pin of the week is. While some moms “most pinned” are likely innovative and attractive, here’s MINE:
At this point, I can take pride in it, because this is ME. It’s funny, it’s quirky, and it’s honest. I’m not knocking creative pinners or people who love them, because I truly admire their skills and creativity.
But the world needs quirky pinners, too.
My Pinterest is publicly shared, but it’s for myself; I pin things that I genuinely love, admire, or are interested in. Some of it might be practical and useful for others, but some of it’s random stuff like:
Pinterest is like any other social media account- you need to do it your way. Be you. Draw from what inspires you, what you enjoy, what helps you to do what you need to do better, but take it and make it your own.
© Copyright 2016 Six Pack Mom, All rights Reserved. Written For: Six Pack Mom