What You Won’t Find on Pinterest

I can see the stars all the way from here.  

This is what morning looks like for me in Baltimore. I took this picture as I was walking the few blocks from where I am staying now to XS, one of my favorite restaurant/cafes, for french toast and coffee.

I needed to work on a few writing projects and I needed to be out of the house, away from the cozy warmth of my room and my bed. I’m seeking to avoid distraction as much as possible.

Sometimes, the familiar can be distracting.

So can inspiration.

Are you on Pinterest?

I just discovered the site a few weeks ago. Many ladies use it to post links to things that inspire them or things they wish they had in their lives – furniture, fashion, recipes, products. But less than 24 hours of setting up my little pinboards, I knew I had to hightail it out of there.

Pinterest and all the other sites like it can take away precious time from pursuing the life you’re “pinning” about. Even this site can become a time suck if you let it. If you find yourself spending too much time here (or even on Facebook or Twitter), it’s fine to take a break. Unsubscribe. Unfollow. Leave your account dormant for awhile. It will all be there when you get back.

As a social media super user myself, I’m not saying to swear off the internet. No ma’am.

But what I am saying is that it can be counterproductive to sit online day after day wishing you could have this, buy that or replicate this or that person’s style. We only have so many hours in the day, and if several of them are spent coveting someone else’s life, you’re not really doing what you need to do to maximize your own.

I mean, think about it. It would take quite a bit of effort, focus and time to earn the extra money to purchase any of the lovely things you “pin” about wanting. So the time to get started is probably now.

Do you really want the life you’re pinning about? If so, when are you going to start doing what it takes to get the things you want?

How about now?

What are you waiting on? A permission slip? Good luck with that.

No one is going to give it to you.

And you’re not going to find it on Pinterest.
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19 comments

  1. Pingback: Work-Life Balance and Social Media | Reflections of A Summer Moon

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  3. I got an invite from Pinterest….held it for a couple of days and deleted it when I realized that my “pin” is really my vision board. Why complicate it?

  4. Pingback: Connection: A Review of January 2012 | Happy Black Woman | Helping Women Design Their Ideal Lives

  5. There’s some kind of necessary balance between being inspired enough to create your own vision and taking action on the dream inspired. Wish I had that balance figured out :)

    I think many of us are too close to one side; whether we’re overworking or over-dreaming, we can still end up depressed, deflated, and reaching toward quick fillers. Imo, the key is to include both in your life.

    This may require stepping over fear of failure or fear of being “lazy,” either way we each have our strides to make. I think when these two come together in harmony great things are created and great strides are made in less time than expected.

  6. I love Pinterest. I admit to spending way too much time there but I realized that I couldn’t keep pinning things and never doing…so I created a board called Completed Pinterest Pins or something like that. Now for every so many pins I make I have to complete a project.

  7. You are absolutely right about all the social websites! I ditched Facebook almost 2 years ago because it seems to be just a bunch of nosey people all up in everybody’s business. But Pinterest…I love. I pin the life I want on my boards, but I’m also living that life and plan on living a whole lot more of it in the future. So many new things I have done for myself, my family and my home have come from Pinterest, but you are right…every now and then you gotta back up off it for a while!

  8. You were speaking to me when you wrote this…

    My biggest issue is not that I have nothing to do, but that I don’t know WHAT to so, like where to start. I get overwhelemed thinking about all the things I could/should be doing, i end up doing…nothing. and then just thinking about all the stuff i want/need to do.

    It’s a bad habit, I’m not sure how to break. I have my moments where i’m up, moving, doing everything that needs doing but it comes in spurts and I’d really like it to be more consistent. That’s my biggest obstacle right now.

    • I find that I do the same thing. I get overwhelmed thinking about all the stuff I could/should be doing and end up not doing anything at all. SMH @ All the days I’ve wasted.

  9. Social media can be a positive tool/experience if you use it correctly. If it’s only for socializing then, my personal opinion is that yes you should unplug. If you are using it to network and learn, then it’s positive. For example, I was on twitter on Monday participating in a chat on how to handle brands. As a new blogger, I found this discussion very helpful. I have a Tumblr account which is an extension of my personal style blog. I post things on Tumblr that I “covet” but I am also finding that my “pinned” items are turning into blog posts, etc.
    Read my latest blog post…Add Color To Your Wardrobe This Winter

  12. I have been inspired to be more industrious. Although I have a style board, I spend more time pinning to my craft board and also thinking of ways I can utilize this network to build my handmade craft business up. I’ve been doing the stuff on the side for years, now I’m excited that there is a bigger market to be opened in craft making and selling.

  13. I’m sure quite a number of people use Pinterest to “pine after” and “covet” things but there are also many other reasons that people use. I think if that is the main and/or only reason someone uses it, than perhaps it is best to get some perspective. But, you’ve only mentioned one possible reason that people use the site. I think its something to think about if you find that when given the option to create mood boards, if its all about what you want, then there is something deeper that needs to be addressed. That’s just like people who create vision boards and fill it up with images of their dream man/car/house/$$$ and whatever else. But then there are people who use visionboards to think through their own personal growth, spirituality and mentally.

    I get the heart of what you’re saying though.
    Read my latest blog post…EXPRESS ~ Utter Your Spirit Sounds

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