The Problem
I am a fan of social media and use of social media in many different ways. It is great that we have it and I see influencers trying to get everyone's attention with it. I see the great videos with music telling a story of success or overcoming obstacles. It shows super talented or super fit people in dramatic settings while they look absolutely amazing. It is great advertising and marketing, all the way. However, it is misleading, and deceiving also.
The reel I am thinking of shows a young woman who is in phenomenal condition, training with very inspirational and motivating music. After a few challenging exercises, it cuts back to this image of her in amazing condition. There are reels with men just like this as well. They are doing exercises and talk about the amazing results if you just follow a certain plan. It crosses both genders on Instagram and everywhere else on social media. For me, it sends a message that you can achieve something with only minimal effort.
The Truth
What is real is more like what I spoke about in my last post, where you grind away, trying to achieve a goal, hoping that you can stay healthy and not get demoralized when progress is slow or seemingly invisible. There is no glamor like what you see in the reels and videos and amazing photos posted online.
My workouts are not very photogenic unless I make an extreme effort to present something that is photo-worthy. It is a process, with a lot of mistakes, combined with a lot of patience and determination. It could be fitness, it could be martial arts, it could be in anything. Every level of success takes a lot of patience and learning from a lot of mistakes.
I understand that nobody is interested in boring reels or photos, so we need to put on our best face and presentation for everything we post, but the viewer needs to be reminded that progress and success are preceded by a lot of boring repetition and daily discipline that is not very glorious. I think as people who put info out there in public should try to be real, as well as inspirational.
The Grind Looks Different within Each Age Group
When looking at social media, try to remember a few things. Among the top of my list is the age of the influencer, especially in fitness and martial arts. Why? Because age makes a difference in the way you present information, consume information, and the way your train. If you are 50 years old or older and you are watching someone do amazing things with his or her body on a reel and that influencer is in their 20s. That may not be a realistic thing to aspire to. Twenty year old bodies are very different from 50 year old bodies, even if the older body is in amazing shape and fitness. The grind of a martial artist in their 20s has the added benefit of quicker recovery. When one is older, you have to train smarter, not longer or with reckless abandon, like so many in their youth are prone to doing. Then you have those who are in-shape and out-of-shape. Those factors affect the realism.
Whoever you train with, make sure you train with someone with perspective, so there is a high level of realism within your training. It takes time to build skills, fitness, and abilities. They do not appear out of thin air, and it takes a lot of repetition to excel in whatever you do. Age is a factor, as well as everything else. Do not take anything for granted, no matter what age you may be at. Do not take anything for granted even if you are super fit and skilled. Always assume you can get better. Have humility and the perspective of a white belt and you will go far.
Keep grinding and working. Don't be fooled by social media. Enjoy it if you like. Be inspired if that helps. But keep it all in perspective.
Train hard.
