Hi guys! Welcome to the 66th episode of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast!
I hope wherever you are listening today you have sunshine and if you don’t, I hope you’re enjoying the contrast because life is meant to be enjoyed. Are you enjoying life?
So many of us spend a lot of our life consuming whether that’s what we are watching, eating, reading, or buying. Often, We fill our heads with entertainment and distraction and we fill our closets and fill our homes with things when what we really want is to feel happy, feel loved and fulfilled and especially we want to feel joyous and alive.
Alright, Hard question incoming…..When’s the last time scrolling on Instagram or FB or TikTok made you feel alive? When’s the last time buying a new pair of shoes made you feel joyous for longer than a day? I’m a shoe and purse girl so I understand it can make you feel temporary joy. But seriously. When was the last time you really thought about what YOU want out of life? What is it that brings you joy? I want you to Think about just for a second when was the last time you really felt pure joy? Really think about that. NOW, if you did that… My guess is no one pictured them self scrolling Facebook or Instagram or TikTok.
More than likely it was a moment on the lake riding on a boat feeling the fresh air on your skin. It was the moment with your family or friends enjoying a nice bottle of wine over dinner, maybe on the patio. It was an experience. It was time spent with people you love. It was time spent doing something new or learning something new. It was most certainly not scrolling away on your phone.
Why then is it that we are so hooked to our phones? It’s kind of sadly normal anymore to see a group out to dinner and at least one is spending time on their phone, if not all. My husband and I were in Bora Bora in a restaurant on the water and there was a young couple seemingly on their honeymoon and honestly they were on their phone the entire night. I felt kind of sad for them. The person right next to you, the live one that you have chosen to spend time with and they have chosen to spend time with you… they are more important than anything someone has to say on social media. I’m saying this because we all do it. We have all been guilty of it.
I’ve been practicing leaving my phone when I go places where I will be with people I enjoy. You know why? Because if it’s in my purse I think about getting it to just check something really quick or google something and then get distracted and am on my phone for ten minutes. This is a real problem because I’m in the presence of people I truly care about but they don’t feel it because my head is down on my phone. Google things later. because the tendency for your brain is to want stimulation. We are so used to doing 3 things at one time that we actually feel a little bored if we don’t have it. That’s someone else controlling your mind. They get paid to keep you engaged. The more addicted you are the better it is for them. Not for you, for them! How many of you have breathed a sigh of relief when someone left the room so you can go back to social media or games or whatever your distraction du jour is. I can say this because I’m guilty of that and it makes me sad to admit it because what if that person wasn’t around anymore and you would give anything to have them there? Your phone wouldn’t matter, that’s for sure.
Creating a life that brings you joy And makes you feel alive takes intentionality. Our brains are literally craving drama. Kind of the way your body craves sugar…. It’s as addictive and it can be equally detrimental to our life..whether to our relationships, or our job or our sanity. Take back control of your mind from that drama loving brain. Realize You get to say no to your brain when it’s craving distraction.
And look, I think social media is good in a way because we stay connected to people we would normally not. But do we want to do that at the expense of being connected to the people that are currently present in our life? The ones right there? I don’t. I also don’t want to beat myself up and I don’t want you to beat yourself up. All I want is for us to be aware.
So my challenge for this week is:
Be present. Be aware. Be INTENTIONAL
Be present when you are with another person
Be aware of your brain and it’s desire for distraction
Be intentional about when you use those distractions and why
And what that means is you’ll control your Phone, it won’t control you. I love you guys and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
