This App Is Killing Your Energy and Your Dreams—Here’s How to Take It Back

Let me guess...

You woke up this morning full of ambition, ready to take over the world.You had your water, your journal, your five-minute pep talk in the mirror.

Then—just a quick check of Instagram—and suddenly, it’s two hours later, your coffee’s cold, and you’re in a shame spiral watching someone else’s dog go viral for wearing sunglasses.

Relatable? 

Unfortunately, yes.

If you’ve ever looked up from your phone and thought,

“What the hell am I doing with my life?”…this post is for you.

Let’s Get Real: Scrolling Is Not Harmless

Look, I’m not here to demonize Instagram. I love a good meme and baby goat reel as much as anyone.

But let’s call it like it is:

Social media is designed to hijack your attention.

And if you don’t intentionally take it back, it’ll rob you blind—of time, energy, and the mental clarity you need to go after the things that actually light your soul on fire.

And if you’re a high achiever? That cost is even higher.

Because your brain is already juggling 87 tabs and five future empires at once.

The last thing you need is a dopamine-sucking distraction disguised as “relaxation.”

What Doom Scrolling Is Actually Costing You

Let’s break it down, shall we?

🧠 Mental Energy

You might think you're “resting” while scrolling, but your brain is in full-on consumption mode. You’re absorbing hundreds of micro-decisions, comparisons, and stimuli. And guess what? That drains your focus faster than a toddler with your phone battery.

🕒 Time (Your Most Precious Resource)

You say you don’t have time to write your book, launch your offer, or meditate. But your screen time report says otherwise.

💥 Motivation

Watching everyone else live their curated, filtered lives doesn’t inspire you. It paralyzes you. It feeds the lie that you’re behind—even when you’re doing amazing, sweetie.

🔋 Creative Fuel

Every minute spent consuming someone else’s voice is a minute not spent finding your own. (oh, I know that hits hard!) You can’t birth your genius while drowning in everyone else's highlight reels.

But Why Is It So Damn Hard to Stop?!

Because it works. The algorithms are smarter than all of us. They're designed to give you:

• Instant validation

• Endless novelty

• Dopamine hits that mimic “progress”

  
  

And if you’re also neurodivergent, overwhelmed, burnt out, or emotionally fried? Scrolling feels like safety. Like numbing. Like the only thing you have energy for.

I get it.

No shame.

But here’s what I know to be true:

Your dreams deserve more than your thumb.

So… What Do We Do Instead?

Here’s how to reclaim your power, your peace, and your potential—one intentional step at a time.

💡 1. Set the Intention Before You Touch Your Phone

Before you open Instagram, ask:

“Am I here to connect, to create, or to compare?”

If it’s not the first two—close the app and take a breath.

💡 2. Create Before You Consume

You’ve got magic to share. Content to make. Ideas to birth.Even if it's messy. Even if it's not perfect.

Before you scroll someone else's feed, post something on yours. Write. Voice memo yourself. Send that idea to your VA. Make it real.

💡 3. Batch Your Scroll Time

Give yourself 20 intentional minutes a day (max) to scroll guilt-free—like it’s dessert, not the main course. Set a timer. Use it. Stick to it.

💡 4. Replace the Habit with Micro-Joys

Next time your fingers reach for Instagram out of boredom, try:

• 3 deep breaths

• 10 jumping jacks

• Looking out the window

• Writing one sentence of your book

• Sending a loving voice note to a friend

  
  

Interrupt the loop with presence.

💡 5. Use Social Media as a Tool, Not a Trap

You’re not anti-social media. You’re pro-intentionality.Use Instagram to:

• Build your brand

• Inspire your community

• Make real connections

  
  

But don’t let it use you.

Final Thought: Your Dreams Need You Awake

You weren’t born to scroll your life away.

You were born to disrupt.

To create.

To live.

And that starts by reclaiming your attention like your future depends on it—because it kinda does.

So close the app. Take a breath. Touch grass.And go become the version of you that doesn’t need to watch someone else’s life to feel whole.

💛

Sarah