Tags
Arianna Huffington, computer switch off, End of day, Health, less technology, New Habbits, Quiet, shutting out the noise, The Sleep Revolution, Thrive, Unplugging our lives, Vertigo
I am learning to weave contentment
into my life
by
introducing
some new habits…
In this harrowed hurried life we now live, I feel that I have forgotten how to truly connect with my inner being. During the week I feel I am always running, racing out of bed to that alarm going off every morning, jumping straight into the shower without even 5 minutes to think about the day ahead, quickly applying my makeup while sipping my hot tea or just throwing something quick like yoghurt and chia seeds in a bowl with a cuppa before racing out the door to drive to work, race inside and be sitting at my desk by 8.30am only to race back home again when its all finished, 5 days a week. Its no wonder when the weekend arrives we are frazzled and exhausted.
Don’t get me wrong, 2 years ago I was tortuously commuting 2.5 hours a day each way to a far more stressful job and life so where I sit now is a hell of a lot better but still not quite flowing how I would like it to flow…there is always room for improvement in our lives and it begins with making small changes. I want to begin practicing these new changes and be more mindful in my mornings and evenings…
I was watching Super Soul Sunday today, a favourite cable show of mine while having a little ‘time out’ I always take a little bit of wisdom away with me from watching this show – and today’s episode saw Oprah speaking with Arianna Huffington, who you may know as the international founder and creator of ‘The Huffington Post.” Arianna explains that being so successful comes at a price which she writes about in her two latest books “Thrive‘ and “The Sleep Revolution: Transforming your life one night at a time”. In these books (you can read about both here) the author speaks of the price of success and the importance of redefining this within our society so that we are all not striving for an impossible lifestyle which we cannot maintain without losing ourselves. The Sleep Revolution teaches us the value of how important regular sleep is for our bodies to regenerate and heal as well as encouraging us to ‘unplug‘ occasionally in this high tech world we now live in.
One of the tips Arianna shares of which I really want to take on board is that at some point in the evening, select a cut off time when its time to turn off computers/laptops and phones to stop that insistent chatter in our heads and instead use the last 2 hours of your day reading, journalling or some other quiet activity and creating a little ritual to unwind before bed instead of having screens and information blaring at us right up to the point of hopping into bed. I am quite sure that what is on there can wait another day for my attention. Parents with school age children are most likely doing this already as a family however when you live in an adult family like I do, its much harder to be self disciplined as nobody but yourself is feeling the detrimental effects of this 24/7 tech world at our fingertips. Because everything is now so conveniently on our smartphones, it feels like they have become an added extension to our bodies.
Its hard to believe that not that long ago I would grab a book to sit and read for hours and probably finish one each week or took time out to watch a movie, now it seems we don’t have time as we are just attached to these little mobile things as if life will pass us by if we are not checking them constantly and by the time I have finished an 8 hour day at the office plus more screen time of a night, I have looked at screens far more than I need to 😦 Admittedly my blogging is also another hobby which happens to be on a screen however with this practice, I am unloading my mind and thoughts, like journalling, just not on paper…
Body, you have my attention…
This week I suffered quite a bad attack of vertigo (the third this year) which left me feeling very uneasy within myself thinking, this is just not going away as its been on and off all year and I really need to make some changes as I do not wish to permanently have to suffer with it. So as I was being tortured at my local massage centre yesterday – only because my body had tightened up so much to release all the knots it really hurt, and made me realise that what I was doing each day is not helping my body. The way I sit all day and the way I hold my stress in my neck and back muscles needs to be released and only I can do this with regular stretching, walking, heat bags, yoga and taking better care of myself.
So, my new habit begins in about half an hour, it might take me a while to undo some of the bad habits I have formed since we all hopped on board this tech train, and even though I am not one to update to the latest phone or gizmo out there, I do spend a lot of time researching my interests online and just doing ‘stuff’ on my laptop and I use my phone far too much to check Facebook or Instagram, so I will let you know how it goes and if it actually does make a difference in my life. Perhaps by being more mindful at night, this will create a more restful sleep which will enable me to get up earlier to alleviate the rushed feeling of a morning.
There has been much written lately on the damage that too much screen time is harming our health. If this topic interests you, you might like to read the article below on how technology is affecting our health:
My vertigo symptoms are telling me I need to change something, and it all starts with little changes…so I am committing to working on this new habit. While I am computer and phone free the last hour or two before bed I can be using this time to relax, unwind, and stretch out any stresses, take a hot shower, or take the time to be grateful and think of how my new day will be like as I learn how to totally unwind at the end of each day…