Distractions

The number of distractions in life is absurd. I am bombarded by a lot of them by no choice of my own. However, I make the intentional choice, and go to varied amounts of effort, to add a lot of them to my life as well.

-When will the new season of my favorite show be on Netflix so I can binge watch all of it in a week?
-Of all the shows, why did they choose to bring back Full House and how can the new season of 24 not include Jack Bauer?
-How realistic can I make the Powerpuff version of me look like? (seriously though, you should try this if you haven't already)
-Should I spend less time watching TV, and more time reading books?
-If so, which book should I read?

-What are all of my social media friends up to?
-Do I really care what people I haven't seen in years are up to?
 Why did I just spend hours spectating on their lives instead of finding something to do in my own life?
-How many likes or hearts or whatever did my most recent post have?
-Why doesn't it have more?

-What ice cream flavor should I buy?
-What brand?
-What size?
-How can I ever eat healthier when Chocolate Brownie Thunder ice cream is so freaking delicious?

-Is that viral video a hoax?
-Is it some sort of advertisement that I am willing taking in that is going to alter my subconscious consumer tendencies?

-What crazy thing did that actor/politician/athlete do or say?
-Why do we care so much?

There are a lot of things I want to and should care about. I want to a better job of tuning out the noise, so I can focus in on what is truly important.

Any ideas on how? 

Unplug

Without being plugged in to recharge, our beloved cellphones run out of juice. I feel like we humans are the exact opposite. We occasionally need to unplug in order to recharge. Conveniently, this chance to unplug coincided with being on a vacation at a mountain lodge where I didn't have great reception. I decided to unplug, and spent the weekend recharging.

I like being connected and informed, but noticed I felt more relaxed not constantly checking my phone for any potential updates. I'm not even quite sure what I am constantly checking for in the first place. It was refreshing. It was needed. I hunger for something my feed doesn't provide. I can choose to get my substance from other sources, starting with the people around me.

Let's unplug more.

*I did use my phone to take this picture of
my mountain adventure... deal with it.

(That said, I did forget to charge my phone upon returning to civilization. My phone died in the night causing me to oversleep my alarm by several hours which basically added a half day to my vacation. This unplanned sleeping bonus did help me feel very rested when I returned to the daily grind.)