After taking a quick scroll through celebrity fitness trainer Massy Arias’ Instagram page, you’ll likely conclude that she has it all: a perfectly sculpted body, a beyond-adorable family, the most photoworthy meals and a lifetime of carefree adventures. But while this workout guru knows how to work her angles, her selfies aren’t what keep her 2.5 million followers coming back for more posts. During a panel at #BlogHer Health 2019, Arias swore that the key to keeping people engaged and being the best parent is to be your 100 percent authentic self in all areas of your life, including on social media — which means tossing the word “perfect” from your vocabulary.
“I try to be so authentic on social media. You’ll see me with my nails all cracking and no makeup and having a bad hair day because not every day [do] I look like this,” she said, pointing to her makeup and amazing suit. “Giving women the ability to know we’re not perfect [is so important].”
Arias admitted that being genuine isn’t always easy — especially when it’s so easy to compare yourself to others, like the dozens of polished Instagram moms who curate their seemingly flawless lives online.
“Sometimes I look at accounts and go, ‘How do they do it? How do they look so amazing all of the time? I can’t.’”
Shout it from the rooftops for all to hear! The expectations we put on ourselves to stack up to nearly impossible standards — impeccable hair and makeup 24-7, a 27-step skin care routine, a spotless home and a booming social life — is outrageous. How is one person possibly expected to balance every element of their lives?
According to Arias, letting go of the notion that you can do everything is vital to finding harmony.
“Don’t take on any roles you’re not ready to take on yet,” she said. “As women, we try to do so much, and I’ve learned to take one project and nail it, move onto the next project and nail it. Because when you try to do too much, that’s when you start stressing.”
Oh, and as for Instagram moms and influencers who make it seem like they’re getting by without any help? Yeah, they’re likely full of it.
“I have a lot of people around me, like my sister-in-law, who help me with [my daughter],” Arias said. “I don’t know if I’d be able to do everything that I do without my sister-in-law or my husband because we take turns.”
So, give yourself a break, enlist help and, for the love of all things hashtag-able, stop trying to compete with heavily manicured (and staged!) Instagram accounts.
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