FACT-CHECKING OUR CRAVINGS

Are your cravings “valid”?

Technology has brought us a lot of gifts and advantages. Social media has made it possible for us to stay in touch with friends and family even when we live far apart. There is also quick and unlimited access to information, the kind that we can get with the swipe of a finger. We can watch movie after movie on our phones, tablets, and other devices at any time and in any place. Technology has some good things about it, but it also has some bad things.

The Danger of Social Comparison

Many of us are more likely to compare ourselves to others because of social media and Hollywood movies. Social comparison is the idea that we constantly judge and rate ourselves based on how we compare to the people around us. This is true no matter where we are, whether in our social circles, at work, or with our families.

What did you think about this morning as you scrolled through your social media feed? It might have been something like, “Look at him. He has done so well. “What have I wasted my life on?” “They have such a nice family. I don’t have a family like that. My life is sad and empty. “Take a look at his brand-new car. With the job I have, I’ll never be able to buy one of those.” “Look at that person’s hair, clothes, and body. I wish I looked like that.”

Social comparison can push us to get better, learn new skills, and reach our full potential, but it can also lead us astray. It can make us feel bad about ourselves, make us make mistakes in our thinking, and keep up the story that “I am not enough.” Because of this, we get caught up in a swirling eddy of material, emotional, and physical cravings.

The Danger of People-Pleasing

Everyone wants to be looked up to, and everyone wants to be liked. This is a common way to act. But there is something bad about it. People-pleasing can chip away at our sense of self-worth until we don’t have much of it left. It can make us decide what to do based on what other people want instead of what we want. It makes us feel helpless by making demands that aren’t reasonable, but we don’t know that nobody else is making such demands of us. We always feel like we “should” do this or that, but we don’t realize that this “should” is what our inner critic wants us to do. What happened? We get sucked into a deep, dark hole by our desire to be liked and accepted by other people.