a fresh look at our connected lives

Here's an Instagram story (I have many to choose from). A year or so ago, I wanted to challenge myself to do a handstand IRL. I needed to build strength, balance and coordination. Before I had made this decision, I came across a post on Instagram where someone had shared a video of their handstand progression. I liked it, I may have even commented. I was impressed and so, I did a bit more exploring. Within a few days, handstands were everywhere. It felt like every post I saw was of a woman who could easily execute a smooth and seemingly effortless handstand. With all the impressively positive input, I decided that I too could be an Instagram Handstander and set my goal to give  try. Over the next few week, my handstands improved, but my Instagram feed, filled with highly liked and commented handstand posts, had me feeling inadequate, unfit and not quite good enough. I kept trying, looking for new strategies, tips and tricks, while Instagram endlessly displayed gravity defying feats. Within a couple of months, I took a step back, recognizing that my time spent on Instagram ruled over my time spent on handstands. I did some unfollowing, focused on other fitness goals and left the elusive Instagram handstand behind.