The official podcast of internationally recognized artist, speaker, author and mentor Matt Tommey. The Thriving Christian Artist Podcast is for artists who want to bust through roadblocks that have held them back for years, create the art they love and live the life the they know God created them to live as an artist in His Kingdom.
Could social media be sabotaging your art practice? Join me, Matt Tommey, as I explore how platforms like Facebook and Instagram might be draining your creative energy and disrupting your artistic flow. I discuss the hidden pitfalls of mindless scrolling, which can create a false sense of productivity that detracts from genuine art-making and spiritual fulfillment. By understanding the impact of social media on your brain's reward system and recognizing the distractions it causes, you can reclaim your focus and foster a more rewarding and intentional artistic journey.
As someone who knows the challenges of managing social media, especially for those averse to conflict and change, I share effective strategies to help you set boundaries and maintain your creative focus. From scheduling specific times for social media engagement to prioritizing creation over consumption, I offer practical advice to help you cultivate habits that prioritize true artistic growth. By removing distractions and connecting with your spiritual and artistic purpose, you'll find greater fulfillment in your work. For more support in nurturing your creative habits, consider joining the Created to Thrive mentoring program. Listen in to transform your relationship with social media and enhance your artistic life.
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Welcome to the Thriving Christian Artist, the podcast, where we hope you connect with God to bust through the roadblocks that have held you back for years, create the work you love and really live the life you know. God created you to live as an artist in His kingdom. I'm Matt Tommey, your host. Let's get started. Well, hey there, my friend, Welcome to the podcast. I'm Matt Tommy, your host, and super glad that you are here.
Speaker 1:
Listen, I want to talk today about social media, and there's so much that we could say about social media, but I really want to pose the question could social media really be the thing that's killing your art business and even your art practice? Your art business and even your art practice? You know, I don't know about you, but so many times I find myself in the evenings or in the mornings or just during the day or at lunch or whenever. Having some downtime in my hand automatically goes over to my phone, grabs it, start scrolling Facebook, Instagram, whatever, and you know, five minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes go by and you kind of come back to yourself and you're going what, what am I doing like? Why am I sitting here mindlessly scrolling, uh, this machine that is in my hand, thinking that this is this thing is making me, uh, more creative, when actually it's distracting me from the very thing that that I need to be doing as an artist. And I think it's a crucial discussion for us as artists, as we're all trying to learn to balance this idea of studio productivity and doing the thing of what we do as artists with having an online presence and being out there in the world and sharing our art. And so I want to really dive into this today, because, unless you're getting this in your own life and really having a frank discussion with yourself about this, I guarantee you you're letting a lot of hours and energy and focus and creative juice just drain out of your life through social media, rather than pointing it in the direction that it can be the most not only fulfilling in your life, but also often sort of this, you know, just response this automatic thing that I do rather than it being a purposeful activity. And you know, the funny thing about this is is that it can make you feel like you're being productive, like you're being creative, like you're. I'm doing art stuff I'm an artist, you know but what it does actually is it creates this mirage of creativity in our life and so, instead of us actually being involved in meaningful creativity, meaningful artwork, meaningful work of inspiration, meaningful development of ideas in our studio and in our art practice, we just scroll and we talk about art stuff and we look at art things and we look at other artists.
Speaker 1:
But listen, there's a big, big difference between consuming art products, consuming art information, consuming other people, know other people's art online on social media, looking at all the stuff that others have done, and actually creating art yourself. Listen, if you're an artist, you have to create art. You can't just look at other people's art. You can't just be around other artists. You can't just go look at other artists. Yeah, that's a big part of it Staying inspired, knowing what's going on out there in the market, getting other ideas, filling your imagination with all of the different things that we need to bring us life. But listen, if you're only doing that and if you're allowing social media to be this place where you're just kind of getting sucked down the hole of the digital algorithm and just mindlessly scrolling TikTok or Instagram or Facebook and Reels and all this kind of stuff, I promise you it's keeping you from the thing that God's really created you to do, which is actually creating art and also actually hearing his voice for your life.
Speaker 1:
I don't know about you, but when my life is filled with busyness for the sake of busyness, when I automatically go to social media or television or Netflix or whatever it is you know for you, just this mindless activity, when I automatically go to that as my default, I'm automatically saying to my, to my brain and to my heart, and I'm teaching and I'm saying, hey, this is what we do when we're feeling empty. This is what we do when we're feeling alone. This is what we do when we feel like we don't have any more. Whatever we go, get refilled with this thing. We use this thing. Whatever that thing is, whatever that strategy is, we use that to refill.
Speaker 1:
Well, I don't know about you, but that's probably one of the worst things that you and I can do to refill and to re-energize ourselves is to fill ourselves with social media. Why? Because, number one, we all know it's a time drain, right? I mean, you know, if you really want to, you know, get get crazy with it. Do a time diary of the time that you are spending on social media every week. You I don't know if you have that on your phone. I have that on my phone where every Sunday morning it comes up and said you spent X amount of hours on on your phone, uh, this week. Well, 99% of the time that I'm spending on my phone is not in meaningful work, it's social media or it's doing other things you know that are not that important. So look at that, realize you know that's a huge time drain for you.
Speaker 1:
Number two it is that lack of focus. It's fragmenting our attention. It's given us these constant dopamine hits which are telling us that the more you do this, the more you're going to get response and reward which is driving us as humans to do that thing again. Well, I don't know about you, but when I first started being an artist and when I'm really in the place of flow, I get a huge dopamine hit from that. But if I'm constantly training my brain to get that reward and fulfillment from social media and just from scrolling the feed, then guess what my body, your brain literally, is being trained to want to do that, to be drawn to do that, more than it is to create art.
Speaker 1:
And then the third thing I think it does for all of us is it throws us in this comparison trap of this constant feelings of inadequacy, where you're measuring yourself against these sort of you know, curated highlights of other artists maybe that are top of their game, or they're the best of the best, or the most famous or the most successful or whatever and when you're looking at that you're like, oh, that's so beautiful. And then you're like, I suck, my work will never be like that. Or you're not able to enjoy what you're creating because always in the back of your mind there's this thing that I'm not enough and so I'll just keep looking at all this stuff and comparing myself to that, rather than actually getting in the studio and actually, you know, doing the work that you need to be doing. It's a huge, huge, huge issue for us as artists is not just the comparison trap and not just the lack of focus, but this idea that you know it is moving us away from the work that matters the most in our life. If you're not creating art and being in the creative process as an artist, you're not doing the thing that God has called you to do. You know, the core of being an artist is creating in the studio. It is refining your skills and producing meaningful work.
Speaker 1:
And so this, this mirage of that you know that social media creates, gives us the illusion that we're building a business, gives us the illusion that, oh well, I'm, I'm getting likes and comments and shares and all that kind of stuff. But listen, how many of you actually are doing the work that it takes to determine if that is actually producing dollars in your pocket? We talk about this all the time in the mentoring program and in fact I did a whole segment this year on building your business without social media, because just doing social media does not mean that it's producing anything for your business and it could be just like we're saying, you know, completely sucking your time, completely putting you in the comparison trap, completely unfocusing you and refocusing you on things that don't matter. And so you know, just because you're posting all the time and scrolling all the time and and all that sort of thing does not mean that you're building a business. You may be building a group of followers that just want to be you.
Speaker 1:
I found that to be true in my own social media. Rarely are the people that comment on my social media people that actually want to buy anything from me. They're just people that like me, people that think what I do is nice, people that think that what I do is beautiful, but they're not buying anything. Well, I don't know about you. That may feel good, but that means nothing to my business. But it creates this mirage that, oh, I'm busy, I'm doing stuff and pretty soon as I'm on there doing all these things that you know, I just I think they're going to produce it, but I'm not really measuring it. Then, as I actually start looking at it, not only is it not measuring, not only is it not producing. Now it's pulling me down the whole of the algorithm and I'm getting unfocused, distracted, all this stuff, and it's keeping me away from the work that matters.
Speaker 1:
Also, I mean, come on, this really can become a big, big distraction from keeping us from hearing God's voice and aligning with his purposes for our art. Why? Because anytime that we're feeling down, anytime that we're feeling bored, anytime that we're feeling anything that's less than the dopamine hit promise, what do we do? We go back to the source that is giving us life. We go back to the source that is giving us pleasure. We go back to the source that is giving us pleasure, which for many, many people nowadays, is social media. Oh, but Matt, it's just Facebook, oh, but I just like to veg out every now and then I get that I turn. So do I. But all of us have to be realistic about how much is the scroll actually the determining our focus and our plans and our desires in our life, rather than using that as a tool, keeping it within a box that actually works for us and intentionally crafting and creating a life of creativity that works for us and that gives us life as artists? And so I want to give you a couple of things that I think that, will you know, help you to begin to have this conversation with with yourself.
Speaker 1:
I don't know if you're like me, but I tend to be kind of an avoidance person. I don't like conflict. I don't like change necessarily. I like to kind of keep my rhythm. So anytime I'm trying to to make a change, it is not necessarily a fun thing in my life. I usually let it get to a point where I'm like, okay, I've got to do something about this, and so the first thing I would say is set some clear boundaries in your life for social media use. In other words, schedule some specific times for posting and engagement that are going to help your business? All right, Use you know a schedule for yourself. Are going to help your business? All right, Uh, use you know a schedule for yourself. Put it on your calendar. Hey, I'm going to use this 30 minutes to post and check up on social media, uh, in the morning and at night, and that's it. Or 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, All right. Remember, social media is a tool for you, it's not a master, and it certainly doesn't need to be just the default thing that you go to as a reaction to boredom.
Speaker 1:
Number two, I would say create before you consume, and we've talked about this so much in the mentoring program, about creating a social media plan, creating a marketing calendar for yourself. So, start each day focused with studio time, Start each day with being inspired, Start each day with your time with the Lord and really, really focus on the things that matter the most. Those are the things that build momentum, that establish discipline in your life, that really ground your day in the creative focus that you have with the Lord and being able to hear His voice. Do the thing that he's called you to do and then, if you got to focus on social media for a little bit, for your business, or you want to share something, or whatever it is, do that afterwards, but don't let that be the first thing that your hand hits when you wake up in the morning. It just becomes an empty well that you keep going back to day after day after day.
Speaker 1:
And then number three, I would say measure success by creation, not engagement. In other words, start tracking the hours that you're spending in the studio creating every week, versus spending that time on social media. All right, Set some specific creative goals. I want to create X pieces this week. I'm getting ready for a show. I got to produce this. I want to go, be inspired by this activity or that activity. I'm going to go for me, you know, harvest some new materials. I'm going to have a play time this week and just experiment with, with new materials. Let those things be your goals and and put those into your regular schedule, rather than having all this empty time that you're just automatically defaulting to social media, automatically distracting yourself with the scroll and listen.
Speaker 1:
If at all possible, do not, do not, do not have your phone in the studio with you. Now some of you say well, my kids need to be, I need to be able to get my kid. Okay, whatever, I get that, but have it in a place or at least have the notifications turned off where you're not listening to and checking that thing over and over and over again. Why? Because you're disjointing your creative flow and you're literally keeping yourself away from the thing that God's trying to do in and through you, which is flow, his life and his light, his transformative power in and through you and through the work that you create. Listen, just like everything in our life and I know it's like I don't need one more piece of intentionality in my life, man I just want downtime sometimes I get it. I get it, but we all got to be realistic about the things that we're doing in our life and are they really giving us the results that we want? And for me, social media is one of those things I have to keep in a big, big check.
Speaker 1:
So maybe this week is a week for you to maybe try a different strategy that we've talked about here on the podcast. Instead of just having your phone out everywhere, having it in the studio when you're creating, set it to the side, Actually create some creative goals and use your time more wisely in a way that you know is going to bring you life in a way that you know is going to bring you true fulfillment and true focus toward the things that you know that God has for you as an artist. Also, listen, if you need more help in this whole process of developing great habits and practices as an artist, of actually taking your dream of being a working full-time artist or maybe just a part-time artist into becoming a reality, we can help you inside Created to Thrive, and I'd love to do that in a place when you're ready to get started. I'd love to do that in a place when you're ready to get started. You can click the link that's right here in the show notes and find out everything you need to know about the created to thrive artist mentoring program.
Speaker 1:
I love you, my friend. Remember your greatest work is waiting for you in the studio, not on your screen. I love you until next time. Remember you were created to thrive. Bye, hey. Thanks so much for spending a few minutes with me today on the podcast Listen. I hope it's been a huge encouragement to you on your journey as an artist. Hey, also, before you leave, make sure to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any of the other episodes of the Thriving Christian Artist podcast, and also be sure to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram or at my website, which is matttommymentoringcom. Until next time, remember you were created to thrive. Bye-bye, Thank you.
