My life has had its fair share of challenges as of late.  I move out of my apartment in a little over two weeks and am currently unemployed.  I have been trying to find new ways of being happy despite these challenges, and one of them came from a surprising place: Facebook, and the deletion of it.

If you know me, or were formerly Facebook friends with me, you may know that I used to spend a good six hours in front of my computer screen scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed.  Some of these hours were at work, some of these hours were at home, some were on my phone.  But I was dedicating my time to others, and wishing I had their happiness, their belongings, their experiences.

When I deleted my profile in early July, I realized I had more time.  I’ve been reading a lot more, spending more time with friends by calling and texting them, and learning more about myself with a lot of soul searching and self reflection.  This time has been extremely beneficial for me to apply to jobs, show myself my inner strengths, and spend some time in the great outdoors.

I realized I have been happier in the past few weeks than I have in the past, and I can contribute most of it to deleting Facebook.  I am not wasting minutes and hours away looking at someone’s vacation photos.  I am not wishing I had a new pair or pants or piece of jewelry just because I saw someone else wearing it.  I am living my own life, and being much more content, despite the rough patches I am enduring.

It is important for me to remind myself that this is my life, no one else’s.  I need to be happy with who I am, what I have, and the life I live.  Turns out, when you stop comparing yourself to others, it is much easier to do.

As far as contacting others, the people who care about me and I are still in contact.  My social life has not slowed down; in fact, it has been better.  If you need time to refresh, recharge, and reenergize, I would highly recommend deleting Facebook.