In a world so absorbed with technology and social media, it's easy to have the desire to become "social media stars". And I think one of the reasons for that is because we want to have influence in people's lives, whether we know them or not. And I know that's not the only reason why social media is so huge, but I think it might be one of the reasons, none the less.
So this morning, I was journaling after doing some reading and a thought occurred to me. What is the difference between influence and impact? And which one do I want?
Here's what I came up with when I broke it down a little bit more. With influence, I am not truly known and I don't truly know the people I am "influencing". Most of the time, it's devoid of deep, meaningful relationships and connections. Influence can be, for lack of a better term, wishy-washy. If you don't like or agree with what I'm saying, you can find someone else out there who supports your ideas instead, and that's ok. I don't have a personal relationship with you...unless you're one of my friends or family reading this...but that's besides the point.
For example, when I look at why I started this blog and the instagram account that it's linked to, I start to realize that it was first motivated by a desire to feel valued, being heard and known by others. But what's so funny is that I found my blog and specifically the social media accounts connected to it, took more out of me than not. And on top of that, I wasn't finding the value I thought I would when I started it.
Then I took a look at impact and realized that the main difference is that impact comes with a relationship built on trust and respect. I can influence hundreds of thousands of people but I only have the reach, time and emotional bandwidth to truly impact a few. When you have impact in someones life, what you say is valued and taken to heart. I am impacted by a few very close mentors but I am influenced by Kalyn Nicholson, a Youtube I absolutely love but don't have a personal relationship with. I follow some of her advice and just admire the rest. But I listen, discuss, and implement what my mentors say because I have a relationship with them and them with me.
So when you're looking at your relationship with social media, ask yourself, "Am I looking to influence people or impact people?" There is no right or wrong answer but I think I've come to realize, I want to impact people more than I want to influence them and although I love blogging and I love the creativity that can come with social media, I know that I would rather put my intentions in to impact over influence.
DISCLAIMER: I am not going to stop blogging or using instagram, but I will utilize them because I want to, and not specifically for you.
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