Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing at all.
In today’s society it’s hard not to be “plugged in.” We plug into the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, we plug in to the perpetual novelty and distortion that is social media, we literally plug our phones, tablets, and computers into any electrical socket we can find, no matter how obscure or inconvenient the location… It never seems to end.
But what effect does all this have on us? What are we gaining in the process? And, perhaps more importantly, what are we losing?
For all the plugging in that we do, are we ever fully – or even sufficiently – recharged?
The answer is tragically doubtful.
I’d say most of us are eking it out at a 37% battery life, mindlessly moving through our days with a cracked screen, a few broken buttons, and a handful of critical app functions that haven’t been updated in a long, long time. We are broken, we are bruised, and we are so smudged with our own oily residue that we can hardly see clearly. Said another way, most of us are operating our lives as if they were a teenager’s iPhone[1].
In other words, we are long overdue for a reboot. Our memory is at capacity, and our ability to multitask and simultaneous execute multiple functions (well if at all) has hit an all-time low. We are distracted, superficially engaged, and constantly searching, always looking for the next quick fix but never sufficiently satisfied. We are – metaphorically if not also literally – endlessly scrolling and constantly moving but never truly getting anywhere at all.
It’s time for an upgrade.
It’s time we unplug.
Now, you might think to yourself, “But if I unplug won’t I miss out?”
All those news alerts, those unceasing work meetings and often circular social conversations, the never-ending stream of social media posts that swear to lead you not into temptation and yet ultimately deliver you straight into evil[2]… Will you miss that? What would happen if you just said “no” and made the conscious decision to remove at least some of those distractions from your reality? Would life as you know it even continue, or would the world suddenly go poof and you’d cease to exist?
Really, who’s to say.
But, let me tell you this. Sure, you might miss out on some of those things. Heck, you might even miss out on all of them. Perhaps you won’t be up to date on the latest news, maybe you’ll find yourself occasionally out of the loop in your social circles, and maybe, just maybe you might not see that new TikTok video that everyone else is currently raving about[3].
But do you know what you will gain?
Time. Energy. Connection. Perspective. Peace. Perhaps even sanity.
And do you know what you won’t miss out on?
Yourself.
Remember, sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing at all. So how will you challenge yourself to take a step back, reflect, reassess, and take some time to put whatever it is you’re currently carrying – whether literal or metaphorical – down for a moment and consciously invest in yourself by choosing to reboot your own batteries? Whether it’s going for a long walk, spending time pursuing a hobby that you love and yet perpetually set aside, or unapologetically taking time off to pursue a change of pace and get away from it all, do something, anything that will help you escape the noise and reboot your batteries. It’s honestly one of the best, healthiest, and most holistically beneficial things you can do for yourself. Battery life doesn’t last forever, even with the newest and shiniest of phones, so how will you make the most of your shelf life and give yourself that upgrade while you still can?
As for me? I’m currently winding down a busy work week, and as soon as it hits five o’clock Friday, I’ll be putting up a well-deserved OOO, closing down the old computer, and then literally unplugging so I can slowly settle into an ample nine-day stretch of letting go of it all.
And boy, am I looking forward to losing myself in some beautiful, spaciously unstructured, truly freeing free time. If you need me, you can find me at the lake. Blissfully unaware of everything I’m “missing out” on and loving every minute of it.
[1] And no, I’m not talking about that Insta-worthy picture-perfect teenager either. I’m talking Chad from the suburbs of Chicago whose phone predominantly lives in his sewer-smelling hockey bag except on the rare occasions when he removes it to text his friends while simultaneously using it to sloppily sop up whatever Chipotle burrito he’s currently eating. So yeah, you’re Chad’s phone. Woof.
[2] Or at least evil’s milder, less caustic cousin, malaise.
[3] Only to forget five minutes later.
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