Are We Truly Connected? Me And My Phone.

May 6, 2018

I’m addicted to my technology. I keep my phone by my bedside table each night.

This morning, I committed to trying something new.

I decided I would put my phone aside while I did certain tasks, yoga, eat breakfast, watch the news, do the dishes and even type this note.  It is an experiment. Yes, to some of you this may seem like an obviously simple solution but I suspect more of us have difficulty truly turning off the technology and truly tuning into what we are actually doing.

Seriously, when was the last time you actually shut your phone completely off? Or left it at home when you went out?  Or didn’t check it when you were out to dinner and used the bathroom? Do you notice how quickly you attend to your technology when you feel that familiar buzz or hear the ping?

What are we all looking for?

Often I feel at the effect of my incoming dings, pings, and rings coming from this handy little device.  The moment it dings I feel compelled to react, answer, reply.

The other day, I was able to step away from my phone for a full 75 minutes while in a yoga class without a worry of what dings or rings were occurring.  What I did notice was the moment I got back to the phone I was scrolling and seeking for what needed to be done, immediately. Like every text is an invitation to react immediately.  And when there are multiple texts, I notice the overwhelm kick in…which do I answer first? What is most important? There’s too much to do!

And if nothing appears?  I notice the part of me that feels let down, as if I have been abandoned by my friends and family.  What? no one is thinking of me, my small self worries.

So I decided to give it a try this morning…just for a little bit.  I left my phone upstairs while I went downstairs. That almost never happens.

Here is what I noticed.  My eggs truly tasted different.  I felt a bit calmer and more present to the news.  I was taking it in and truly listening. I feel more organized.  However, most importantly, what I notice is a sense of ease in my body.  I felt calmer, more empowered actually. More connected.

Funny, we use our technology to feel connected, and it often creates the opposite result.

I can see it is time to let go and create a new way of being in relationship to my technology.  And letting go is not easy. With practice we can learn new ways of being. And it takes time to create new habits.

The key to new habits?  Practice be aware. Building the awareness muscle takes practice, practice, practice.  Malcolm Gladwell say that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field.  While that may be true, research suggests we only need 21 days to shift a habit.