Normalize Disconnecting

Dear LLers,

I was looking at the screen of my phone as the cursor continued blinking.

Should I do this?

I clicked “tweet” and took a deep breath. It’s “me” time now, I told myself. 

Today when I woke up, I had absolutely no intention of taking a break from social media; somehow, hours later, I did it. Why? Because it felt good.

I’ve come to realize that every single day, every single thing takes away my focus and attention from myself. 

Every single time an email enters my inbox, every single time, I get a message on slack. Every single time my WhatsApp messages pop on my screen. My time quickly turns into others’ time.

Do this for a couple of days, you’re okay. But we have done this for years now. Eventually, the way we work conditions us to prioritize external distractions over ourselves. We forget how to connect with ourselves - that’s when the real problem starts.

For the first time in my life, there was a sense of quiet and calmness. Of course, there is an urge to check my social media, but this time around, I can move away from being the topic to an observer. That’s all I need to do - just observe and let everything be.

As we grow and become glued to our phones and laptops, I feel we have a greater responsibility, to make an effort to connect with ourselves however that may be. 

Disconnecting makes room for connecting to happen. Let's normalize this.

Love,

LL