Today I am challenging you - leave your phone at home, PS: my husband rocks!
Revelation time! Leaving my phone at home for a couple of hours does not mean that the world will end! woho!
A couple of weeks ago my husband and me were going out to dinner and a movie. I just have to stop here and say how I love the American thing were you go out to eat and watch a movie. Coming from Sweden I was not used to such things at all but I knew it from TV. First time I went out to a D and A here, it was so exciting!
Ok, back to the story;
we were about to get out to eat, and I saw to my horror that I only had a little battery left on my phone. I told him that it will probably die while we were out. Then he said something that shocked me to the core. – Leave the phone at home..
I have to tell you as well that he does not have a phone himself. That is something I really admire about him. Of course, sometimes when I cannot reach him, I start to nag in my head about it. But mostly, I think it is such a healthy thing.
When he said that I have to admit my heart stopped for a sec and I just stared at my husband, then my phone, and then at him again.. Then I realized my strange shocking reaction to his request and I said, yes, I will do it. I will leave my phone at home. Ok, maybe not everybody is as attached to your phone as me. I am and I am not happy about it. But I am nonetheless.
The evening past and we had a really nice time. I really felt that I was enjoying every moment of the evening more without anything to distract me. I also noticed that whenever I got a big antsy and did not have the phone to distract me with. I realized how I am using my phone as a distraction. Being without this protection made me realize that there are things I am trying to avoid that needs to be addressed. That was for me a big success, cause now I can address those stuff that came up.
So did I have any cold sweets? Withdrawal symptoms? Nope not really, I thought about it. I wanted to check the phone when I did not have a fork in my hand or a drink, but it was not there, and it was such a relieving feeling.
What if there is an emergency? What if one of my friends needs me? Maybe they will be in dire need and they can’t get on hold of me!!! Did something happen? Did I have 20 million missed calls and 55 000 messages? NOPE! Not one.. Nothing, nada.. So there you go.. If you leave your phone at home, the world will not end.
I believe a lot of us are using phones and other things to distract us from things we don´t wont to address within yourself and in our lives. But the thing is that when you stop hiding from it and instead addressing it. You will start to feel better in yourself.
Challenge, leave your phone at home. Don´t think or plan too much. Just leave it at home. It will be all right.
This is for us who knows that we are to attach to our phones. To attached is for me sleeping with the phone besides us. Looking at it every time we don’t have anything else to do, and maybe even during we are doing something. Just because its there, Common people, I know I am not alone in this.
If just thinking about leaving your phone makes your uncomfortable and stressed out, that is a big reason why you need to do this. Cause do we really want to be this addicted to a phone? I surely do not. I love my phone and my mac, but I don´t want it to be one of the biggest parts of my life.
I find myself that I have a harder time remembering things cause I don’t have to when you have Google maps. I remember getting lost in NYC all the time when I first got here. Which was great cause then I found new places and I get to think. Now when I have Google maps I don’t have to. Ok, I do get lost sometimes even with it, I know but anyways. I don’t have to think anymore. Just Google, I love Google so nothing bad about that, but I use it too much.
Here comes this weeks challenge. Decide a day and time where you leave your phone at home. No excuses, I know we all have lots of them. But just do it. And if you know yourself enough that you planning it will not help. Do it NOW, leave it and take a walk, walk the dog, go shopping or to a movie. Or maybe let it run out of batteries for a couple of hours without recharging it. Whatever works best, just leave it.
You can do this!
Let me know how it felt by commenting below. And if you noticed any shifts or stuff coming up during this experience, I would love to hear.