Let's All be Present Because Each Day is a Gift!
We live in a very distracted world. The smart phone is a curse and a blessing. Yes we can do things quickly, and we have the world at our fingertips, but are we really living in the moment? How many of us are guilty of having our phones out, and texting while we should be out enjoying time with our friends or our significant others? We all at times are very distracted.
When I think about how social our lives are now with the boom in social media we live in a world where it didn't happen if it wasn't captured for the "likes." We spend time capturing the perfect picture or the perfect video so that others think that we are doing "well" in life. I think if we really captioned what was going on in some of these pictures we wouldn't be so quick to compare our lives to others.
For example when someone posts #NewCar did they really pay for it out right? I highly doubt it! What you don't see is the high car payment that is stressing them out every month, and adding to their mounting debts. When someone posts #Engaged sure they are excited in the moment, but what you don't see are the arguments of that "happy couple" during wedding planning, or the fall outs that people have with their family during the wedding planning season. When you see someone post #NewHouse what you don't see is that a few months after moving in they had to replace the roof and there were some issues that they didn't know about that are causing stress. Finally, when someone posts #Baby sure you may see their cute maternity pictures, but what you don't see is the internal fears about becoming a parent and their life changing dramatically. Or you may see their adorable baby but you aren't living through the sleepless nights and the weight of the responsibility of another little life.
Let's all stop looking at what everyone else is doing as a barometer to our own success. Live YOUR unique life and don't compare it to anyone else's because your own journey is unique and special. Also when you see these picture on social media take the pictures that you see at face value because you don't really know whats going on under the surface of all of the likes.
Let's also not be so caught up in capturing something on social media that we miss the moments that are happening all around us. Let's also take time to really be in the moment when we are spending time with people because being on our phones sends a clear message to the people that we are with that they are not important enough to have our full attention. I personally don't want anyone to feel like that. A few weeks ago I observed this level of phone distraction while I was waiting for my friends to meet me at brunch. So here is the story... I was sitting down in the waiting area people watching as I usually do when I am out, and I observed a girl pouring out her heart to her friends about a situation that she was facing with a guy that she liked. while this girl is giving an account of her story all of her friends at the table were looking at their phones and not really paying attention to what she was saying. I felt for her because not only did she have the rejection from this man her friends were sending her a message that what she had to say was not important enough for them to pay attention.
My challenge to all of us is to remain present when we are out with our friends and family. Take the time to make sure that they are heard. Give them the respect to let them know that they are important enough for you to be all in and present in the moments that you are sharing with them. Life is too short and I for sure don't want to waste mine being so caught up behind a phone screen looking at the highlights of someone else's life instead of building my own highlights! If you are really up for a challenge I challenge you to spend a day with your family, friends, or significant other and leave your phones at home and enjoy some uninterrupted time. I know I know what if there is an emergency... What did we do when there was an emergency in 1996? We waited until we got home to find out about it so I think you would be ok for a day. I can't find who said it first, but one final thought to keep in mind is that every moment that we live is a gift that's why they call it the present! So in this life don't forget that the present is a gift, and enjoy the moments that this life brings!
When I think about how social our lives are now with the boom in social media we live in a world where it didn't happen if it wasn't captured for the "likes." We spend time capturing the perfect picture or the perfect video so that others think that we are doing "well" in life. I think if we really captioned what was going on in some of these pictures we wouldn't be so quick to compare our lives to others.
For example when someone posts #NewCar did they really pay for it out right? I highly doubt it! What you don't see is the high car payment that is stressing them out every month, and adding to their mounting debts. When someone posts #Engaged sure they are excited in the moment, but what you don't see are the arguments of that "happy couple" during wedding planning, or the fall outs that people have with their family during the wedding planning season. When you see someone post #NewHouse what you don't see is that a few months after moving in they had to replace the roof and there were some issues that they didn't know about that are causing stress. Finally, when someone posts #Baby sure you may see their cute maternity pictures, but what you don't see is the internal fears about becoming a parent and their life changing dramatically. Or you may see their adorable baby but you aren't living through the sleepless nights and the weight of the responsibility of another little life.
Let's all stop looking at what everyone else is doing as a barometer to our own success. Live YOUR unique life and don't compare it to anyone else's because your own journey is unique and special. Also when you see these picture on social media take the pictures that you see at face value because you don't really know whats going on under the surface of all of the likes.
Let's also not be so caught up in capturing something on social media that we miss the moments that are happening all around us. Let's also take time to really be in the moment when we are spending time with people because being on our phones sends a clear message to the people that we are with that they are not important enough to have our full attention. I personally don't want anyone to feel like that. A few weeks ago I observed this level of phone distraction while I was waiting for my friends to meet me at brunch. So here is the story... I was sitting down in the waiting area people watching as I usually do when I am out, and I observed a girl pouring out her heart to her friends about a situation that she was facing with a guy that she liked. while this girl is giving an account of her story all of her friends at the table were looking at their phones and not really paying attention to what she was saying. I felt for her because not only did she have the rejection from this man her friends were sending her a message that what she had to say was not important enough for them to pay attention.
My challenge to all of us is to remain present when we are out with our friends and family. Take the time to make sure that they are heard. Give them the respect to let them know that they are important enough for you to be all in and present in the moments that you are sharing with them. Life is too short and I for sure don't want to waste mine being so caught up behind a phone screen looking at the highlights of someone else's life instead of building my own highlights! If you are really up for a challenge I challenge you to spend a day with your family, friends, or significant other and leave your phones at home and enjoy some uninterrupted time. I know I know what if there is an emergency... What did we do when there was an emergency in 1996? We waited until we got home to find out about it so I think you would be ok for a day. I can't find who said it first, but one final thought to keep in mind is that every moment that we live is a gift that's why they call it the present! So in this life don't forget that the present is a gift, and enjoy the moments that this life brings!
Havana Cuba, the most present vacation I ever had! I had 1 hour of WiFi for 5 days that you had to stand on a specific corner to get, so my phone was useless. That being said this was one of the best trips that I took because I got to connect with some amazing women without the phone distraction!
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