Last week I was sitting in a room waiting for an appointment. There were five other people and all of them were on their phone. Travelling on the tube, I saw a very similar scenario. People put their headphones on and check their phones. You can see it in the street as well. Whenever there is a minute of waiting – the first inclination is to check the phone. When I see secondary school kids going to school in the morning, in most cases, they are looking at their phones.
Mobiles are an amazing thing – they allow us to connect, share pictures and the technology these days is incredible. However, it often creates pressures and totally different problems relating to our wellbeing. The first thing that many people do in the morning is grab their phone and check social media and emails. Then throughout the day they keep checking the phone several times. As a result, anxiety and struggles to focus come up more often than before. We are living in a time when people can’t imagine being without their phones.
When was the last time you marvelled at something? When did you last time pause, breath in and out and appreciate that moment for its beauty? It’s an amazing thing when you can give somebody or something your full attention. Babies are a great example – when you spend time with them – they bring you to the present moment and the same happens when you are in nature.
Here is what I would like to encourage you to do: have one day or at least an afternoon during the week without a mobile. Go outdoors and spend time with the people who are there with you - be it your family or friends. Being able to give them and the environment hundred percent of your attention will also make you feel different and you will connect with the present more. How many times has it happened that you walked somewhere or travelled, and you can’t remember anything from the route as you were on your phone?
For many people, mobiles have created an addiction. That constant urge ‘just to check’ is messing up our brains. We interrupt our activities during the day countless times just to look at the phone. We go to restaurants to meet with friends and everybody has the phone on the table. Parents don’t give full attention to their kids as they are on their phones. At work, most people are on the pc or laptop, during the breaks on the phone and on the way home on the ipad to read a book. And then we wonder why we are so disconnected, overwhelmed and easily distracted.
Mobile is useful but it’s also a massive distraction. These electronic devices don’t give you any energy but on the contrary – they take it. Be in control of your gadgets, so that they don’t control you. Put your phone away when you want to focus on your work, and you will see that your results change as well.
What will you do this week during that half day without your mobile?