Wherever you are, be all there

“Wherever you are, be all there.” ~ Jim Elliot

A few weeks ago, I decided to unplug from social media. As a trial. As a test. As a liberation of the chain that was bound between my phone and me. As a release to keep me more present in my life and in the life of those I am honored to spend time with. I knew it would be challenging, difficult even at times and that the temptation to pick up my phone just for a second would be daunting; but I also knew I could do it. Mind over matter. While I didn’t go the entire 21 days needed to “build a new habit”, it was long enough for me to realize what I had been missing. Life. Friends. Family. Memories. And that made it worth it.

So in my “back away from the phone, Linds” time-off, I shed the feeling of needing to be connected and plugged-in for every second and that the peace and calm that accompanied the step away was brilliant. Previously, I was burdened by my incessant need to have my phone with me at all times. What if someone texted with an important question? What if a client called/emailed/texted for a last minute booking? Who liked my last instagram photo? The list goes on. I recently read a study that indicated some mobile users checked their devises every 6.5 minutes and that 84% of us can’t go a single day without our devices. Yikes. I was that person. I’m happy to report that the world did in fact continue to turn and did not end when I put my phone down.

This little detox made the return to social media fun to come back to for a quick check-in to see what my friends and family scattered around the world have been up to. But it has also made me much more aware. I no longer want to pick up my phone, check out pages upon pages when hanging with company. I’d rather share stories, laughter and create memories with those in front of me that I will cherish for forever. Just as everything in life (chocolate, wine, etc) it’s finding the balance.

So in the end, it’s not so much that I broke up with social media, but that we were “on-a-break.” ;)