Unbreakable Mind & Body

Authentic Living in a Content-Driven World: Are You Performing or Being?

• Tiana Gonzalez • Episode 17

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Have you ever stopped to consider which parts of your life are authentic versus performative? We tackle this thought-provoking question in our latest episode, inviting you to examine your social media habits and daily activities through a refreshingly honest lens.
 

"Would I still be doing this if no one was watching?" It's not about judgment but rather a genuine curiosity about our motivations in today's content-driven world.

The episode also addresses why this podcast remains audio-only, despite requests for video content. This episode discusses how cameras fundamentally change our behavior and energy - something we've all experienced when someone pulls out a phone during an authentic moment. 

This bite-sized episode packs a powerful punch, offering exactly the kind of reflective pause many of us need in our busy lives. Subscribe now and join our growing community of listeners committed to building unbreakable minds and bodies through authentic living.

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Disclaimer: This show is for education and entertainment purposes only. This is not intended as a replacement for therapy. Please seek out the help of a professional to assist you with your specific situation.


Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Unbreakable Mind and Body podcast. I am your host, tiana Gonzalez, a multi-passionate, creative storyteller and entrepreneur with a fierce love for movement. This is our space for powerful stories and actionable strategies to help you build mental resilience and elevate your self-care practice. Together, we will unlock the tools that you need to create an unbreakable mind and body.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to the show. I am your host, tiana, and on this episode I want to talk to you a little bit about doing things that are performative, and I want you to sit with yourself, maybe while you're listening to this episode or after, and think about some of the things you do and what you choose to share on social media. Now, please know I am not judging anyone for anything. This question comes from a place of curiosity and I'll fill you in in a moment on where the question comes from. But I want you to think about what you choose to share to the internet, for whatever reasons, and I want you to ask yourself would you be doing those things if no one was watching you? Would you be doing those things if you weren't going to create content and post about it? I want you to really sit with that and think about it.

Speaker 2:

This question has come up in my life a few times because, well, coming from being a performer as a kid, I was a musical theater kid, I was in the band and in choir and then, later on, I got into bodybuilding, which also the competition takes place on a stage, and I love being on stage. I love dancing. You know I danced most of my teens and into early adulthood performing, and the idea of doing something because you're going to perform it in contrast to doing it for the simple pleasure and enjoyment in the moment of doing it. You can have both and they can coexist simultaneously. However often especially now in 2025, we're in a time where a lot of us are doing things because we need the content. We're selling something and we want to post about it, and we want to post about it. Now, why do I have this question top of mind right now? One of my listeners asked me if I was ever going to make this podcast a video podcast, and I will say yes, the idea sounds really cool and I would love to have beautiful videos showing my listeners what it actually looks like when I'm in my creative zone recording these episodes. But there is an element that I fear will go missing if I choose to switch from audio only to a video podcast and you lose some of the intimacy.

Speaker 2:

When we are doing something and a camera is pulled out, and a camera is pulled out, or when we know cameras are on us, our behavior changes. You cannot tell me I am wrong the moment you are at a party, at a wedding, at a bat mitzvah, at a sweet 16, at a barbecue, and you're in the zone, you're dancing, you're having a good time with your friends, your family, you're getting down on the dance floor or you're taking a shot, or whatever it is. The moment a camera is pulled out, it changes the energy. You can't deny it. You know, it's true. True. How many times have you been doing something, acting a fool or just being giggly and giddy and playing, and then you stop. Why? Because somebody wanted to take a picture or somebody wanted to record a video? Because, whatever the intention is, it's a moment they want to remember, so they want to capture it. But in the act of capturing the moment, you're removing yourself from being present in the moment. It changes the energy, like I've already said a couple of times.

Speaker 2:

So do I think that maybe someday I might turn this into a video podcast? Potentially, but for right now, I love having this intimacy with you. I love being able to be in your ears so you can listen. Some of us are multitaskers, I'm a multitasker. Some of us are multitaskers, I'm a multitasker. So even for podcasts that I enjoy listening to, that have both a video component and or a listening component. I will always default to the listening component. My eyes start to bother me after a while from looking at screens so much throughout the day, and I do in-person work where I'm not forced to look at a screen all day, so I could only imagine what it would feel like if I still had a desk job where I had to look at computer screens During the debacle of 2023, when I had the worst commute in the world to JFK every day. You want to talk about screens? I had three monitors in front of me at all times, plus my phone. No, thank you. Never going back to that, not now, not ever.

Speaker 2:

That sucked. I would come home at night and my head would just be pounding. That sucked. I would come home at night and my head would just be pounding and it was from all the blue light. So I want you to think about the things that you're doing in your life and ask yourself if nobody was watching me, would I still be doing this? If nobody was watching me, would I still be doing this? If nobody was watching me, would this still be top of my priorities? If nobody was watching me, would this be a part of my routine, a part of my day, a part of my practice, a part of my life? Again, there's no judgment. This is purely out of curiosity and there's no right or wrong answer. It's just to give you perspective.

Speaker 2:

Bodybuilding is a performative sport. However, the day in, day out, activities that create the successful figure that you present on stage nobody cares about that. It's the day in, day out. It's the mundane, it's a routine. I've talked about this on several episodes already. It's not glamorous. It is a choice that is made and it's like going into the lab. You're working on something, you're creating something, you're sculpting something, and during the process it's messy, it's not always pretty, it's not always packaged nicely and presentable. Packaged nicely and presentable, it's just the grind. Wake up, eat healthy, stick to the plan, do your cardio, lift your weights, go to work, repeat.

Speaker 2:

So what are the things in your life that you're doing, that you're posting about, and are they truly important to you? Are they stemming from a place of genuine sharing? You want to share your joy, or share your excitement, or share positivity? Perhaps you want to share your story because you know that there are other people out there that could benefit from hearing it, kind of like this podcast. You know, I share things on here because I have listeners who tell me they need help with things. And can I talk about this on my next episode? Or can I talk about that on an upcoming episode?

Speaker 2:

And that is performative and there's nothing inherently wrong with it. But where will you choose to draw your lines and where will you prioritize what's really important to you and what's not? So are you always performing or are you doing? And, as I always ask, why? Because if the why is not important, if it doesn't align with the goals, then it's time to reassess. I hope you found this episode helpful. This is a bite-sized one. Enjoy it. Maybe come back and listen to it again, but think about why you do what you do, and are you doing it because you're performing or are you doing it because it's important to you, and maybe sometimes it's a little bit of both. Thank you for being here. I appreciate your time and your attention and, as always, I will catch you on the next one.