A Hard Habit To Break

We are genuinely an always-on society. I took this weekend and went to my college homecoming. We had a blast walking the campus, noticing all the changes, and reminiscing about who we were back in the day. But I noticed something as I was walking around. I noticed that most college students had their phones in their hands, looking at what was happening inside that little screen instead of noticing the world outside it. It was a bit sad to see people missing what was going on right in front of them.

The habit that is so hard to break is the habit of being mentally absent from the people you are with. We post selfie after selfie but miss the magic of others. We check to see if we have been validated with likes, but we miss the validation of a smile from a friend. We take endless amounts of pictures and likely miss 80% of reality in front of us at that moment. Breaking the habit of being distracted by technology can be a bit tricky, but it starts with one simple practice.

Give yourself a break from your tech every day. Give yourself a little time to simply be with the people you love. Turn off your phone, leave it in another room, or simply turn on the do not disturb, but make this a habit for at least an hour a day. When my wife and I were frustrated with our teenage girls checking their phones at a restaurant, we came up with a new rule. The first one to grab their phone had to pay the check. We discovered it only took one time enforcing the rule for the girls to leave the phones stacked in the center of the table.

Being present is how you connect, refresh, and rekindle your soul. It is important to remember the love you started and the love that is still right in front of you. It is important to experience the world outside of your screen. Mostly, it is important to remember who you are without the tech.