A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine posted an Instagram about a new product she’s launching. She was so excited to tell the world about the new creative project she’s been working so hard on. And that post got around 40 likes. She called me and told me she was having reservations about the launch – no one seemed to “like” it.
That same week, I was at the doctor and found out that I weighed 15 pounds more than I thought I did. I hadn’t weighed myself in ten years. After years of Weight Watchers, calculating points, and counting calories, I just didn’t want to know the number. But my new doctor let it slip. And that number really messed with my head. Was it my thyroid thing? I’ve been working out more…was it muscle? Did I just have no freaking clue what I looked like? The questions and number swirled in my head all week.
F’n numbers, man.
They’re the worst.
But here’s the thing – these numbers don’t actually matter. They mean absolutely nothing when it comes to your self-worth. The number of likes you get, your salary, your age…even the number on a scale is just that, a number. It isn’t a real measure of how smart, funny, or cool you are. It doesn’t say what a good friend you are or how you have the greatest smile on the block. That little (or big) number has no real relevance on the specialness of you. Not in that moment. And not ever.
Take my friend’s new product. She posted her image in the middle of workday when most of her followers weren’t looking. I asked her to do a little experiment – repost something about the project around 6:30pm, when people would be on their commute home or sitting around watching TV. Guess what? She got double the likes. It’s not that people didn’t care about her project – it’s that they didn’t see it. Timing can be everything.
And my weight. That stupid scale. After I let that number beat me up for a minute (a minute = two weeks), I woke up last weekend and stopped caring. The number popped up in my head and I actually thought IT DOESN’T MATTER (sometimes my head talks in all caps). I realized that back when I (really did) weigh 15 pounds less I was really sick and unhappy. So I let it go. I haven’t thought about that number since. Take that, you number.
Want to join me?
Starting today, give a number in your life the double-middle.
Turn your back on that pesky number that’s making you feel like you’re not enough.
We’re too good to let these digits get in the way of who, what, and where we want to be.
The only number to focus on is #1. That’s you, btw.
And don’t forget to share this post with someone who might need it.
