Cellphones, Email and Your Not-So-Well-being
Posted on May 28, 2013 by Susan Ball, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Leave your phone at home to increase your personal well-being, social interactions, and sense of freedom.
In our age of technology, there are very few places where you can go and not see someone on the phone either texting or talking, studying their tablet, or checking their e-mail. It is overwhelming for me to watch 90% of the population completely controlled by their electronic devices.
It got me reminiscing about the “olden days”. I remembered how exciting it was when the phone rang and you picked it up in anticipation of who was on the other end. You were going to engage in a real conversation with a real person! The phone could bring great news and feelings – a new job, a date, your mom’s voice, a good friend. It was there when you needed someone special to talk to and all you had to do was dial a seven-digit number and voila! a conversation was in the making. There was no caller ID or voicemail, you either picked it up or you didn’t. Of course, when you didn’t you wondered if you had missed the call of a lifetime!
The phone was magical and it allowed families and friends to communicate across the miles making separation from each other easier. It brought news, good and bad and could be banged down when you were angry or disappointed. The banging down of a phone receiver was cathartic.
The amazing thing about the phones of the good old days was You Would Leave Them at Home When You Left. You went out to meet people and enjoyed face-to-face interactions. You had a good time and there was no beeping, ringing and vibrating interruptions. When you wanted to check in with your parents, spouse or babysitter, you walked to a payphone and dialed. You spoke with the interested person, hung-up and went back to your socializing.
When you went for a hike, or to the cottage, or on a vacation, you left your phone at home and you enjoyed new sights, relaxing in a natural setting, joining in with groups to discover new adventures. You were free from attachment and free to explore without interruptions. The best kind of exploration. Healthy, encouraging, inspirational, natural, social behaviour is becoming a lost art and it is discouraging.
I have been in meetings and social environments where live conversation is interrupted by beeps and vibrations. Inevitably, someone says, “Oh, Sorry, I HAVE to take this!”. Really?!? Have to? or Want to? What would happen if you didn’t answer your cellphone immediately? What would happen if you left it at home for an enjoyable evening out? What would happen if you gave 100% of your attention to the live conversation that is taking place?
What is so life-altering that it is critically important that you relentlessly engage with an inanimate object – your phone?
Shut it down for a day. Get out and talk face-to-face, take a walk in the woods free from your phone, play with your children and focus on them only.
When you do this once, you will do it over and over because you will discover that the caller can leave a message, the text can be answered later, and the email, well, it could actually be left for a few days.
You will discover a new style of freedom and happiness and it is worth leaving the phone at home!
