Make Sure When You plug in, You Use Technology to Your Benefit.
Think about this, years ago we didn’t have half of what we have now with the internet, fancy T.V.’s and we definitely didn’t have the cell phones we have now. Looking things up on the internet wasn’t that simple and texting someone wasn’t even an option. Really, the only way to keep up with someone was a good old phone call. Some phones, if not cordless, still plugged into walls where you had no choice to do nothing other than to sit there and be immersed in conversation.
Fast forward to now and you could literally go days without actually ‘speaking’ to your friends or family due to the simple act of texting and the extreme ease of using the internet and emailing. Sadly it seems easier to make friends with people we have never actually met and in most cases probably never will meet then setting up a time to actually sit around to catch up with old friends.
Now, I’m not complaining. I must say I love using the internet. If not for the internet I would not be here creating this blog. I’d lose the opportunity to read and follow some other wonderful blogs I’ve found and I wouldn’t be able to so instantly and easily find the answers to just about any question out there. I think texting is incredible as well. How wonderful is it to be able to snap a photo and instantly share it with anyone you want, or just drop a quick ‘Hello, how are you?’ to your best friend? If anything, I feel we are all very blessed to have the ease of what technology can do for us right at our fingertips.
Yet at the same time there is truth to that saying…’too much of a good thing’. All these wonderful advancements in our internet, TV’s and phones are wonderful as long as the user behind it all remains mindful of their choices while using it all. With everyone connected through social media and all our phones and internet pages so easily tied together it’s super easy to get swept away, putting your own life on hold as you gain interest in the lives of others. Go into one thing and two minutes later you find yourself reading something completely different, or worse yet, reading about something that your friends neighbor’s cousin did. People now share every meal they have, every place they go and every mistake they make because well…nothing is private anymore.
Before you know it, 1/2 an hour, an hour goes by and you forgot your whole purpose of going on-line in the first place or you can’t find your way back to the original article you started off on. This happens all the time to many people, sadly many falling into the same trap the following day.
If you don’t stop and think what you’re doing while on the internet or using your phone, if you don’t keep your focus, you can easily get caught in this trap as well. I’m not saying it’s not good to follow people or subscribe to blogs. My goodness I am now part of the massive group of bloggers out there sharing my own thoughts and ideas with the world. We give our heart out in all hopes of writing good content. The majority of us trying to help people through our deep passion of writing, in all hopes to get a positive response in return with good followers, readers and comments. Without the wonderful internet, none of us bloggers would exist.
Yet that’s where the difference comes in. There are many amazing things out there on the internet and on our phones and even on TV that will add some absolute amazing value to our lives. There are wonderful sites out there wanting to help people. Wonderful sites out there with people behind it who are trying to create a beautiful space to help you, the reader , gain a deeper insight in life. It’s amazing how you can educate yourself with all the information on the internet these days. Some of the TV shows are phenomenal as well…deeply engaging and educational for children.
Then there are those sites…those phone apps…those TV shows that will latterly suck the life right out of you. Perhaps you’ll get a quick laugh here and there, perhaps you’ll find it interesting only to be forgotten moments later. People posting things just to post, hoping someone out there will just read it. TV shows that don’t add any positive value and education for our children…ads constantly flashing before them. Day in and day out, the hours go by.
If following people and trends and TV shows and using every app out there is how you really enjoy spending your time, there is nothing ‘wrong’ with that. It’s your life and not a soul in this world should tell you otherwise.
I just want to say, there is a potential inside all of us to be great. There is a potential in all of us to do things that no one else can do the exact same way. The days are going fast. Life goes by fast. If you really want to see what you can do, there has to be a point where you focus on nothing else but what you really set out to do. Stop everything and ask yourself…’What really makes me happy?’ Ask yourself what you could do to create more, or what small thing could you do to make this world just a little bit of a brighter place? There is powerful potential inside every single one of us, but if your time and mind is lost in the slew of negative social media or sucked into ten different TV shows you’ll be fighting your whole life against time.
By drowning out the outside noise you begin to focus inside yourself. For many people it might be extremely hard to break away from that circle of what everyone else is up to. Is it hard for you? Then start small.
Give yourself 10 minutes a day to jot down some goals of yours, to write in your journal, to sit outside with no electronics of any kind. If you only have 10 minutes free in your day and you really enjoy being on the internet then try focusing on things that really interest you that you can learn from, or immerse yourself in beautiful photos or websites. Try doing anything that’s inspirational to you. Try using your time on something that you can take away with you in a positive way. Something that you’ll look back on and use or remember.
My whole point is, in 6 months or a year, or even 5 years from now the time you spend caught up in social media or TV shows will be gone but so will the opportunity of those moments you could have used that same medium, (the internet, TV shows and phones) for educating yourself or creating or just spending some of that time actually sitting face to face with your good old friends.
Blocking out the nonsense of what we’ve created with technology can be hard, especially if you’re one to get really lost in it. Yet drowning out the outside noise is the only way you’ll truly be able to get a clear focus on yourself, your intentions and the power you hold inside you. If you can find your focus…your goal…and make a promise to yourself to stick to it and nothing else, you’ll be surprised at what you can do. You’ll be surprised at the time you’ll suddenly have to make something magical of yourself.
