What I Learned From 30 Days of Instagram Lives

In this episode of Wonder Boldly, I’m sharing a personal commitment I took on: going live on Instagram every day for 30 days. It was an experience that taught me profound lessons about commitment, self-discovery, and habit-building. I’m sharing what worked, what didn’t, and the surprising insights I gained; not just about social media, but about myself.

Tune in as I discuss:

• Why accountability, even self-imposed, is a powerful motivator
• How habit stacking helped me stay consistent
• The importance of building trust with yourself through commitment
• The impact on my Instagram account 
• Why I’d do it all over again, despite some surprising results

What You’ll Learn:

1. The Power of Commitment: How the thought of “being watched” helped me stay consistent and what it revealed about my own fears of failure.
2. Habit Stacking for Success: How pairing commitments, like daily exercise, and reading made me more consistent overall.
3. Navigating Challenges: Why I showed up even during a tough emotional month and how focusing on others kept me motivated.
4. Instagram Live Results: The unexpected ups and downs of going live every day for 30 days
5. Reflections and Next Steps: Why I’d absolutely do this again and how it deepened my connections with my followers

Key Takeaways:

• Accountability Is Key: Even without external pressure, the feeling of being accountable to others can drive consistency.
• Small Wins Matter: Commitments like reading one chapter a day might seem minor but can have a big impact.
• Engagement vs. Metrics: While my account reach dipped, my connections with followers grew stronger, a trade-off I found valuable.
• Consistency Builds Trust: Sticking with a commitment, even in tough times, strengthens your belief in yourself.

What about You?
What’s one thing you can commit to for the next 30 days? Whether it’s a personal  or professional goal, or something completely new, I’d love to hear about it! Share your journey with me on Instagram, and let’s

Transcript

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Wonder Boldly. I'm Christine Santos, your host, and today I'm getting real about a recent challenge I took on  and the surprising lessons I learned about commitment, self discovery, and habit building along the way. So first a little backstory. I recently committed to going live on Instagram every day for 30 days. So every day, rain or shine, no excuses. Now, I'll be honest. Nobody was actually counting on me to do it. I didn't have a coach holding me accountable or a boss expecting results. But in my head, I felt like people were watching. I had said I was going to show up and not following through felt like exposing some kind of flaw I had.

It was the inner voice saying, Christine, you've got to follow through or people will think you're inconsistent. They'll think you're failing. Christine. And isn't that such an interesting thought? At first I told myself, I don't want to let people, at first I told myself, I don't want to let people down.

But when I reflected on it, I realized it was deeper than that. It wasn't so much about disappointing others as it was about not wanting to see myself as someone who doesn't follow through.

Now this Instagram challenge wasn't the only thing I had going on. And I also had my own personal non negotiables.

My exercise routine and my reading habit. These are commitments I've made to myself because they keep me grounded and growing. Reading, for instance, Reading, for instance, might seem small, just one chapter a day, but for me, it's been a real struggle to sit down and read because I often feel like I should be doing something else, something more productive.

That's why I love podcasts and audiobooks because I can learn on the go while I'm doing other things. But sitting down with a physical book, that's a challenge for me. And yet, during this 30 day Instagram Live Challenge, I realized something powerful. I started stacking these habits together. I thought, if I can commit to going live every day, I can also commit to exercising and reading every day.

This habit stacking made me more consistent across the board. Now, Full transparency, I did let things slip here and there, especially toward the end, but I always found my way back,

but I never let my Instagram live slip. And I really believe that I felt like this was something public. And if I didn't stay consistent, I would let myself down and others would see me as a failure.

What made this challenge even more impactful was the timing. This particular month was hard. There were moments when I felt really sad and didn't want to show up on camera. But I did it anyway. It's not that I was hiding my emotions. I just felt that this wasn't the time or space for me to share these stories.

My focus was on serving others and sharing stories that could inspire and uplift. That was my goal for these lives. Okay.

One thing you'll learn about me if you haven't already, is that I'm deeply respectful of people's faces and boundaries. If someone shares something with me in confidence, I will never speak on it without their permission. That respect is something I learned. Mm, no.

That respect is something I learned during a difficult time in my life and it stayed with me ever since.

So, what did I learn from this experience? First, accountability, even if it's self imposed, is a powerful motivator. Just the thought that people might notice if I didn't show up pushed me to follow through. Second, habit stacking is a game changer. Pairing one commitment with another helps you stay consistent even when life gets tough.

And finally, commitment isn't just about proving something to others. At its core, it's about building trust with yourself. It's about showing yourself that you can follow through even when it's hard.

Now let's talk about the stats. So I have a very small account on Instagram and for me it feels like the stock market. It goes up, it goes down, and I never can seem to get on a consistent trajectory of growing my account. Now I post on a regular basis. I Keep true to what I want my brand to be. you won't find me dancing on reels or anything like that. That's just not currently. My brand that could change tomorrow. So Now I started doing lives and I had done research knowing that doing lives every day Would have an impact on my account now.

I made a decision which I don't recommend this. It wasn't the right decision but I stuck with it because It was what I was available to do in the time frame that I had so my lives were So  But I didn't do any other posting. I think a couple of days I might have posted something about podcasting, a carousel, or something like that.

But for the most part, it was 30 straight days of lives with no other type of posting. I did have different stories, but I didn't have anything else in my feed and my account reach and Engagement went down for sure. Now what it did do was it grew my connection with people that do follow me. So that was really nice and I feel that was Another great benefit of doing this exercise.

So just to say doing lives consistently for 30 days on Instagram on a small account that has ups and downs of growing and engagement.  This challenge had my numbers going down. I wouldn't even use the word a negative impact because like I said, I had folks that I was engaging with more, and that was a lot of fun.

So it was fun for me. I enjoyed doing it. So in the end, it's fine. And like I said, I feel like my account is like the stock market. It goes up and down, and I'm sure it will go back up once I start posting again more about podcasting and things that are helpful in serving others in that realm. 

So somebody asked me if I would do it again and the answer is definitely yes. I think every time we do something like this and our account's in a different state, it will improve whatever we have currently going on. So like I said, I have a small account and I do have people that engage and doing these lives definitely increased my engagement with my current followers.

So if that was something I was looking to do, I know that this currently in November of 2024 is a method that would help me increase my engagement with my current followers. And all in all, honestly, it was fun. I love doing video. I love engaging with folks. So  the aspect of it being fun and getting to know people better, it was perfect.

I would definitely do it again.

 I hope this episode inspires you to take on a challenge of your own or to reflect on what commitment and consistency mean to you. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you would If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or tagged me on Instagram to let me know your thoughts.

And as always, until next time, continue to wonder boldly.