Living in this media-tech world, it can be hard not to get swept up in the ‘round the clock influx of up-to-the-second information. Staying in the loop no longer requires a weekly phone call from a close friend or a glance at a newspaper. No, not at all, now we need alerts on our phones to tell us who said what, where it was said, and what they wore when they said it. Chances are you belong to at least one social networking site as it is the new way to stay abreast of family, friends and well, people who you just want to keep tabs on from a distance.
When you are constantly flooded with news on social media it can wreak havoc on your mental health as well as your love life. Getting updates about everyone else’s life doesn’t give you room to grow in your own. It can be overwhelming and self-esteem depleting to continuously be updated on other people’s lives. This is because most of the time it appears that on social media everyone is successful, happy, and enthusiastic about every aspect of their life. Seeing this daily may leave you feeling like you are not up to par in your own life because like many of us, you may not be exactly where you want to be. However, the truth of the matter is, everyone struggles to get things right, they have daily hiccups and uncertainties just like you but the chances are they are not sharing this on social media.
Being able to unplug for a few days will allow you to focus on your own life. This way you will be able to work a little harder to nurture your goals and actualize your dreams without distraction. You will have more time to cultivate your professional goals because your standard for success will be in comparison to yourself, and not someone in your newsfeed. When you are unplugged you can spend more time being present. For instance when you are out on a date you can make more eye-contact, allowing yourself to connect more with the person-instead of scrolling through your phone every few minutes, and potentially missing out the subtleties between you that can enhance your chemistry! Challenge yourself to unplug for 3-7 days and engage in other activities; maybe read a newspaper or magazine, go for a walk outside or hit the gym more, etc. Being able to do this will give you the opportunity to clear your mind, recalibrate the steps you are taking toward your goals and to be more in-tune with you. The bottom line is, sometimes you have to unplug just so you can connect.
So when you unplug, what will you be focusing on?
