When life bombards us with trends, dream so big they can’t keep up with YOU!

As we come up on the holidays, it’s time to start shopping yet again for my little nephews. These little guys aren’t so little anymore. Nearing 8 and 10, these boys are growing FAST and with each passing year, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with their rapidly changing interests.

I remember a few years ago, they were both really into animals. So, for Christmas, we got the boys these big plush snakes. They were HUGE, bigger than both of them when fully stretched out. They LOVED them. 

After our tradition of Christmas Eve dinner with Seafood chowder and gift giving, I remember getting a picture message from my sister in law. Both boys fast asleep in bed awaiting the arrival of Santa, clutching their snakes with what I can only imagine is a young boy’s death grip. In my husband and I’s eyes… We achieved the greatest gift of the season- wowing these little guys with a Christmas present that was top-notch, creme-de-la-creme, .

Then came their birthdays. I thought maybe we’d continue the tradition and get them some crazy big plush animals they could play with at home, snuggle with at night, and keep them company on the couch while watching a movie. But when the youngest’s birthday rolled around, it was no longer animals that fascinated them. It was Star Wars. OK… pivot. Star Wars was the theme for this gift hunt. 

Then the other’s birthday arrived later in the Fall. Thinking Star Wars was still all the rave, I sent over some ideas to my brother for birthday gifts. His response? Star Wars is old news. Now it’s all about Super Mario Brothers. Talk about whiplash! 

Christmas came around again, and you guessed it… Super Mario Brothers was WAY out… Now, it’s all about Sonic the Hedgehog. Hey, whatever keeps them happy and excited, right?

This year, I have yet to learn what is “IN” for the youths of our nation… but I can only imagine.

Do you ever feel like the algorithm feels like this sometimes? Or SEO education? One day, it’s telling us to do reels with trending audio and hashtags. The next day, hashtags are irrelevant, carousels are all the rage, and shorter captions win the game. 

It can be an ever-changing guessing game that has us feeling like champs one day and then back at square one the next. Trends are fleeting before us and we are just trying to keep up in order to stay at the top of our game.

Going back to my nephews… we have noticed a common denominator in everything we’ve given them over the years and what continues to pop up every gift-giving season. Activities that allow them to step away from the trendy stuff and dive into hands-on activities outside. In addition to the toys, we also accompanied the holidays and celebrations with activities and experiences. 

And while in the moment they aren’t sure what to do with tickets to the aquarium or passes to a ropes course, when the time comes to get out there and get after it, they ALWAYS come back and tell us how AMAZING it was, recalling new memories made out in the world DOING things that allowed them to actually play.

I think this is a great lesson for us content creators. Remember why you started your journey and what brings you the most joy. Unfiltered, easy-to-find joy. For me, in the marketing world, that means writing blog posts and articles for Winpenny Co. It means less time chasing social media metrics and more time producing  for the sole purpose of sharing, imagining, and creating.

Remember, your imagination deserves to be set free every once in a while. Let it run free without restrictions or limits set in place by trends, media, and comparison traps. If you had the chance to do something today simply because you enjoyed it, not because it needed to push you closer to a goal, or achieve some metric of success. What would you do? On or offline, we must ALWAYS remember to play and explore and dream so big that trends can’t keep up with us!