Fed Up With Social Media? Here’s What 15 Years Taught Me
Fifteen years online, countless highs and lows and a few lessons on how to stay sane when it all starts to feel too much.
I’ve been on social media for 15 years.
That’s 15 years of creating, posting, engaging, testing, and learning.
Fifteen years of algorithms changing, platforms rising and falling, and trends coming and going.
And in that time, I’ve had moments of total demoralisation.
Times when I’ve questioned why I’m doing it.
Times when I’ve wondered if I should quit altogether.
Times when I’ve looked at others and thought, why are they doing better than me?
If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you probably know that feeling too the one that creeps in when your effort doesn’t seem to match your results.
I want to share I handle those “I want to quit” in those “I hate this” moments.
I Am Not My Social Media
I’ll be honest: I’ve been terrible for wrapping up my identity and self-worth with my social media performance.
Good post? I’m amazing.
Bad post? I’m useless.
That emotional link was toxic.
It poisoned how I saw myself and how I approached the work. I wasn’t just posting content anymore, I was putting my self-esteem on the line every time I hit “publish.”
And that’s an exhausting way to live.
The truth is, your follower count isn’t your value. Your engagement rate doesn’t define your worth. But when you spend years online, it’s easy for those lines to blur.
At some point, I realised I had to break that link.
I had to remind myself:
I am not my social media.
That simple truth is what’s kept me grounded ever since.
Social media is a tool.
It’s not you.
It’s just a way you show up.
And when you forget that, you stop showing up as yourself and start performing instead.
Make Progress Tiny Again
When you feel demoralised, everything feels heavy.
Big goals suddenly feel impossible. The idea of “getting back on track” sounds like climbing Everest in flip-flops.
When I hit that point, I shrink everything down. I make progress tiny again.
One post.
One message.
One conversation.
That’s it.
Momentum doesn’t come from giant leaps it comes from small wins that compound.
Recently, I was overwhelmed by my outreach. So I scaled it right back: five messages a day. That’s it. Each one crafted properly, with real thought behind it.
It takes me 30 minutes, and it’s paying off. I’m booking one meeting a day not because I’m doing more, but because I’m doing something manageable.
When you’re low, don’t make your comeback a mountain.
Make it a pebble.
Progress that’s small is progress you’ll actually make.
Fuel Yourself
Demotivation isn’t always mindset sometimes it’s just energy.
Are you sleeping enough? Eating well? Moving your body, even lightly?
I’ve had phases where I thought I’d “lost my motivation,” but in truth, I’d just drained my batteries.
One of the worst ways I drain myself is overthinking. Hooks, videos, analytics. I crunch them over and over. I get to the point I feel lost. I expend so much mental energy analysing and thinking.
When you push yourself for too long, your body starts to run on fumes. And when that happens, your creativity, focus, and inspiration vanish.
I’ve learned that if I don’t look after myself physically, I lose my mojo online.
So now, when I feel flat, I don’t try to force myself to “push harder.” I rest. I walk. I watch something mindless. I let my brain and body catch up.
Because motivation isn’t something you manufacture it’s something you fuel.
If you’re running on empty, you don’t need a pep talk.
You need a nap.
Shift From Outcomes to Actions
One of the fastest ways to drain your motivation is to obsess over results.
The views.
The likes.
The sales.
The growth.
Those things matter but they’re not always within your control.
When you feel disillusioned, focus only on what you can control: your actions.
You can write the post.
You can send the message.
You can start the conversation.
I can’t control what happens with my effort but I can control the effort itself.
That’s how I rebuild confidence when things feel flat.
I stop refreshing analytics and start ticking boxes.
About the only time when being a jobs worth, box checker pays off.
And when you do that long enough, something funny happens the results often start showing up again anyway.
Because consistency isn’t about waiting for inspiration. Inspiration often comes from the doing.
Instead of trying to analyse everything, just do and adjust the sails as you go.
There are plenty of days when I don’t feel like posting. But I do it anyway not because I’m feeling it, but because I know that feeling will come once I start.
It’s like warming up an engine.
The action creates the spark.
Reconnect With Your “Why”
Demotivation often happens when you lose sight of your reason.
When you first start creating, you have purpose. You know why you’re doing it. You’re excited about the mission.
But over time, it’s easy to drift into performing. You start posting for the algorithm instead of the audience. You do things for the sake of doing them.
When that happens, I pause and ask: Why am I doing this?
For me, the answer is simple and powerful.
My goal is to help a million people find success online through social selling.
That’s a big, scary mission.
But it’s also what gets me out of bed in the morning.
Because when I think about the messages I’ve had from people saying, “Your post helped me get my first client,” or “I finally feel confident selling,” it reminds me why this matters.
When you reconnect with your “why,” the noise quiets down.
The metrics matter less. The purpose shines again.
That reminder pulls you out of the weeds and puts the energy back in your step.
You’re Allowed to Feel Low
If you’ve been feeling fed up, deflated, or disillusioned - it’s okay.
It doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for this. It just means you’re human.
No one is “on” all the time. No one loves the grind 365 days a year. Even the most successful creators and business owners hit those points where they think, what’s the point?
The trick isn’t to avoid those dips, it’s to know how to climb back out.
Shrink your goals.
Fuel your body.
Control what you can.
Reconnect with your reason.
And most importantly, remember: you are not your social media.
Your worth isn’t in your metrics. It’s in the fact that you’re still showing up, still trying, still learning, still building.
Fifteen years in, that’s what I’ve learned.
Social media can take a lot from you if you let it, but it can also give you a lot back when you approach it with the right mindset.
Not everything you post will work.
Not every season will feel good.
But if you keep going with patience, perspective, and purpose - it will all add up.
Because real growth doesn’t come from virality.
It comes from staying human in a space that often forgets what that means.
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