Introduction: Narcissism and Me

As an actress, one of my jobs is to promote myself on social media. Constantly.

(As if my generation isn't already known for being the most narcissistic - with all our selfies and posting about me me me all over the place.)

Like many, social media is a large part of life for me, both personally and professionally. It's incredibly important to my career as an actress. I have to stay relevant while trying to catch the attention of casting directors which of course means putting up pictures of myself and updating the world on what I'm up to.

Sometimes it kinda feels like, "HEY! I'M STILL HERE! DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME! PLEASE LIKE ME! LIKE ME LIKEMELIKEMELIKEME..." Barf, right?

Don't get me wrong, I love a good selfie as much as the next person. Obviously, it's a great feeling to have people commenting about how great my hair looks or about how much they like my bombin' shoes. BUT I also hate how important all this is for both my career and for my personal life (popularity, status, etc.).

So, if I want a career, I must continue to feed the narcissistic social media beast. But that doesn't make me feel truly happy.

Here are some things I've learned about happiness:

1. Be Here Now

Though positive feedback on my social media feels really good at times, it's ultimately not going to fill my soul. Many of us have forgotten (or never learned) what it is to be truly present and aware in our lives. And once you are present, you will start to really see people. Then, when you begin to listen to them, things may be revealed that you wouldn't have noticed before. I believe that listening and being present are the only things you need to be compassionate.

2. Feed Something Other Than Your Ego

STORY TIME!

I was at Chick-fil-A the other day, ready to dive in to some magical chicken goodness. I ordered at the drive-thru then pulled around to the window. I saw a woman in the car behind me and I randomly decided to pay for her meal. There were two windows, so when I got to the second one to pick up my food, the woman behind me was being told that I had paid for her meal. I watched in my rear view mirror as a huge smile spread across her face. She literally leaned out of her car window and started waving and screaming "THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" It was awesome. It felt so good to actually see the effect I had on another person.

And that's just one example. There are countless ways to selflessly spread happiness. Send a note to someone who's having a bad week; if a friend needs a little money, give it to them; pay for the person behind you at a drive thru; make cookies for a neighbor!

If you are religious, pray for people in your life. And, pray for opportunities to reach out to others and spread kindness. The possibilities are endless.

You may have to step outside of your comfort zone, but it's so worth it. Not only will it make you feel good, but it may also inspire that person to pay it forward. And now you've fed the world AND your soul.

Imagine what kind of world we would live in if everyone would just pass a little bit of kindness forward everyday. It gives me warm fuzzies just thinking about it.

I'll leave you with these wise words from Jimmy Durante:

🎶 "Make someone happy.

Make just one someone happy.

And you will be happy to." 🎶

Couldn't have said it better myself.