Social media has many benefits, but our feeds are consumed by the best of other people’s work. No one, understanably so, is publishing their failures. It can be inspiring to some, but the incessant stream is mostly just a distraction from the real work.

It can quickly become a competition - something that quickly consumes our attention, creating perverse incentives and distracting us from the real work. At it’s worst, it can be the source of real mental anguish.

The real work is the work we do for our customers. This is the work of our livelihoods, the ups and downs of which are not broadcast for everyone to see.

The real work is the work we do to improve ourselves daily. This is the work we do to improve how we are investing our own time and attention. No one sees this but ourselves.

The real work doesn’t get talked about, but it’s the only one that matters.