194 | The Digital Wellness Detox Tip That Can Boost Your Transformation and Resilience

Ever find yourself scrolling through social media and feeling worse about yourself? You’re not alone. But what if you could take back your joy and confidence starting today?

Healing is hard enough without social media making you question your progress or self-worth. In this episode, Michael shares three powerful reflections to help you redefine your identity, take control of your digital space, and silence the voice of comparison. Plus, a reminder you need to hear: You are a badass survivor.

Key Learnings:

• Learn the three key questions that will help you embrace who you’re becoming.
• Find out how social media might be stealing your joy—and what you can do about it.
• Get a powerful mindset shift to remind you of your strength and resilience.

Press play now and take back your joy, confidence, and sense of self—one small step at a time.

If this episode sparked something within you, please download it and share it with a friend. 

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, or lacquer, highlighting the cracks rather than hiding them. It embodies the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection and teaches that breakage and repair are part of an object’s history, making it more valuable rather than less. Metaphorically, Kintsugi reminds us that our challenges, scars, and setbacks are not something to be ashamed of but can be embraced as a source of strength and transformation.

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If you feel you need more mental health support, please contact NAMI. This is a good place to start. If you have a question or comment, please reach out to Michael@PauseBreatheReflect.com. 

Transcript:

 In this episode, I’ll share one thing that steals your joy. And here’s a hint. It’s on your phone. Hey there. It’s Michael. Welcome to whole again, a show about helping survivors of physical injury and trauma reclaim their strength and resilience through the wisdom of Kintsugi. On Fridays, I love sharing ways to help you heal, grow, and embrace who you’re becoming.

But first, I want to say thank you for being here. As a fellow survivor, I know that showing up is difficult. And some days, you just don’t want to. I know I’ve been there. So the fact that you’re here means a lot. So thanks for being here. And thanks for being a survivor. Today. I would like to share three things with you.

An important question when it comes to identity and who you’re becoming, a way to prevent someone stealing your joy and a story that you can tell yourself. So if you’re ready, let’s take a healthy breath in and a releasing breath out. And let’s dive into today’s episode. Okay. Here’s that question I referenced.

Actually it’s three questions because I like to over deliver to you. What can I say? As we go through something, whether it’s a minor physical injury or something traumatic, the whole question of identity pops up. This is what I talked about in Wednesday’s episode. Who am I going to become? Who am I? And often, in many circles, dare I say LinkedIn, it’s all about what you do, your title.

And that’s not your identity. So as you work on embracing who you’re becoming, and you try to answer, who am I, sometimes it’s best to hit pause, take a breath, and in a moment of reflection, Ask a few questions, like what kind of impact, or I would say, what kind of ripple do I wish to make in the world? Who and how do I wish to serve?

And what do I stand for? What are my values or first principles? Here’s the thing. Your identity isn’t built on job title or your achievements. It’s built on purpose. And when we go through something, our purpose isn’t lost forever. It simply evolves. So if you can anchor yourself in something bigger than yourself, your identity will always have direction.

No matter what life throws your way. Alright. Let’s shift gears and talk about joy. When you’re healing, social media can be a wickedly scary place. And I feel fortunate I didn’t have to worry about it when I was going through the early phase of my recovery. And yes, it might have been helpful to give people updates on my recovery and make connections.

But today, it can be a place if we’re not thoughtful about our use with it. It can steal our joy because as they say, comparison is the thief of joy. So we can easily waste a whole bunch of time scrolling away on Tik TOK or Instagram or YouTube and find ourselves in this horrible swirl that steals our joy.

We might wonder why are they making progress and I’m not making as much progress. We might look at someone and say, I’ll never be like them. Look at them. They’re so pretty. And I have all these scars. Here’s the truth. Comparison is the thief of joy. As we look back at Rumi’s poem, The Guest House, we get to decide who comes in.

Yes, we can greet every visitor at the door laughing, but we don’t have to leave the door open. So instead of passively consuming a whole bunch of content that may not be helpful to our healing, we can take a step and curate our digital space. We can follow people who lift us up, who educate and inspire to help us heal and reclaim our strength and resilience.

We can do that. So here’s my digital tip for today. Go into social media and unfollow anyone who makes you feel less than who doesn’t make you feel whole and follow people who remind you that you’re strong, that you’re becoming, and you don’t have to have it all figured out today. So try that and let me know how it goes.

And here’s the third thing I want to share with you today. You’re a badass survivor. Yes, that’s right. I said it. You are a badass survivor. And yes, some days totally stink. But you’re strong, you’re resilient, and you are becoming. So when life presents a challenging moment to you, slow it down, come back to your breath, and know that you’ve got this.

You can do hard things. I believe in you. And you don’t have to do them alone. And I’m going to tell you this each week, because this is something we all have to remind ourselves that we are all bad ass survivors. We keep peddling. That’s what we do. So keep peddling. And again, thanks for being here. And thank you for being a survivor.

In this episode, I shared not just one, but three questions that you can reflect on to help you think about identity and who you’re becoming and how to stop that pesky thief of joy and a reminder about who you are. You can say this one with me. I am a badass survivor. And yes, you are. You are indeed. I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode.

With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Healing, Growth & Resilience after Physical Trauma through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on stress management, mindfulness practices, and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools like breathwork, micro-dose meditation,  grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress relief. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embraces healing as a process of transformation, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and being overwhelmed to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and holistic approaches to self-care, this podcast empowers listeners to cultivate emotional resilience and live with greater balance and intention.