How Digital Detox Changed My Life
My brother used to joke about how everyone in our family was constantly needing some form of stimulation. “Must have input...must have input…” he would say, mocking us for the book, magazine, or newspaper we had our noses stuck in…
That was 20 years ago.
These days, of course, there are so many more things we can have our noses stuck in - things to distract us from the world around us - phones, computers, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. As we continue to zoom through the digital age, the amount of information, stimulation, and distraction that lies at our fingertips is growing exponentially. Making it harder and harder to pry ourselves away from our devices.
How many of us have had to contend with the complaints of a loved one for spending too much time on our phones and not giving them enough attention?
The Dawn of the Digital Age
My first smartphone was the iPhone 3G acquired sometime back in 2008. At the time, my girlfriend did not appreciate the amount of attention I was giving to that device. She was not one of the early adopters, to her credit, so she didn’t quite get the allure.
To be fair, there was a lot less going on in that device than the attention I gave it. However, somehow there was still something attention-grabbing and addictive even in those early days of the App Store.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always loved gadgets. I remember that same year I got my iPhone was the year I started listening to podcasts on the Stitcher App. (Oh, yeah, I was there before you all knew they existed 😂).
That obsession with needing “input”, my love of podcasts, and the implosion of our world in 2020 manifested into an addiction for me.
What started as an innocent attempt to “stay in the loop” by listening to the NPR Politics podcast, turned into adding The Daily, Pod Save America, and On the Media into the mix. That’s not even including any other random and interesting-looking episode that popped onto my feed.
Sure enough, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was spending 3-4 hours of my day just listening to podcasts! But this was hard for me to grapple with, seeing as I’d listen while completing other tasks…
In the shower, cleaning the house, doing the dishes, having a meal – basically any time there was no other input coming, I’d be listening to podcasts. Not all those podcasts are nice stories either. A lot of the content was spewing “current events” that could easily provoke outrage or stress for the average listener.
As Tony Robbins says, “Energy flows where your attention goes”.
What you give your attention to becomes your world, meaning my world was becoming heavier and heavier, as I continued to consume endless amounts of depressing and tragic conversations surrounding global politics.
This got me thinking…
What if I decided to spend those 3 to 4 hours per day listening to spiritual teachings? Absorbing and digesting content that was actually working to better my quality of self… Surely I would begin to experience the world in a very different way?
Initially, I had a lot of resistance to this idea and did not take it on right away.
It actually took up until about two months ago when I finally decided it was time to turn off the inputs.
No podcasts. No Reddit. No Facebook. No newspapers or magazines. Nothing.
Would I get bored? Probably. But in that case, I’m allowed to do something else that doesn't involve digital media consumption. Something crazy like… read a book.
The morning after my input-revelation, there was silence. And then some more silence. That silence continued into the rest of the day.
In a very short time, I noticed a profound shift.
What I Discovered When I Turned Off All My Inputs
Without the constant inward flow of information, my mind started to think openly and spontaneously. Original thoughts began to pop into my mind unbidden. As if there was something there that had been trying to express itself all along, but had been covered up or weighted down by the constant pressure of information flooding into my field.
Even though initially it was hard to embrace the silence, the positive aspects which followed were both endless and endlessly valuable.
I was able to experience:
Complete decluttering of the mind
Opening to new ideas
A new flow of creativity
Space to practice mindfulness
Opening of new possibilities
Time for meditation
After understanding that what I give my attention to becomes my world, I was more motivated to prioritize content from resources that I knew would help me develop and grow into the person I strive to be.
It’s not an easy feat to shut off and step back from your devices. Digital media in and of itself has been designed to be both excessively addictive and endlessly distracting. Sometimes, we really need a push, and a bit of accountability to keep us away.
I started my personal retreat a week ago by turning off all the inputs again. I’ve spent more time reading, more time listening to inspiring teachers, and more time meditating. I won’t say it is easy to stay away from the distractions once you enter into this quitter realm, but the more you do, the more you will understand and reap the benefits:
A renewed sense of calm
Reduced stress
Easier time focusing
Easier connection with others
More patience and understanding
One of my coaches would famously say, “Slow down to speed up”.
My understanding of this has evolved over time. Now that I’ve slowed down… and I mean, waaaaay down, I’m not even too sure if I want to speed up!?
What would it mean to speed up from here? Yes, get back to normal life, but I don’t want that to look like it did before with all the distractions and stress. Perhaps this is precisely what will be my focus during the retreat this weekend:
“What do you want your life to look like from here on?”
To me, it will look like spending less time absorbing content created by others, and more time creating my own content. Spending less time worrying about the world taking place oceans away from me, and more time focusing on how I can help the world right outside my front door.
It means spending more quality time with loved ones, including myself!
My workshop, Focus to Freedom will transform you from feeling distracted and unproductive to feeling focused and effective by implementing 3 simple techniques!
This workshop will not only get you focused but create a clear plan for you to start implementing these techniques into your life right away. Giving you the confidence and strength to complete any task or project you desire!
The live workshops have wrapped for now, but you can get access to the replay of this workshop at the same low price here.
Let’s transform together!