Tag: disconnect

Disconnect…

I’m only half kidding when I tell you that one of my favorite things about our national parks is the cell phone service and the ability to connect to the internet is absolutely horrible. And that’s why I’m a little upset to hear that at Yellowstone national park they are working to make upgrades to cell towers for better reception and more wifi capabilities through certain areas of the park. I’m all for faster internet speeds when I’m wearing a dress shirt and bowtie but when I’m looking at bison out in the pasture I don’t need to be posting it to social media for a live feed. P.S that’s a really excellent way to go viral as people would love to see someone get mowed over by a charging bison.

The internet and 24-7 news cycle have made it easier than ever to be connected and better informed on everything that is going on in the world at any moment. In a lot of ways that is a magnificent thing and in others it absolutely horrible. I have tried and often not succeeded at disconnecting from work, and the influences of the news/internet during weeknight family time, weekends, and most importantly family vacations. I like to think I was getting better but after a week and a half in northwest Wyoming, I’ve come to the conclusion that a modern man can indeed survive without access to WIFI and cell service and popular to contrary belief you can actually thrive.

It’s amazing how much time you have to go on walks, throw airplanes, look at the stars, play games, imagine what the clouds look like, run, swim, jump, and 10,000 other things that you could dream up when the allures of the modern world are as effective as a paperweight.

I took a lot of things away from that trip to our oldest national park but the thing I am trying to use the most is disconnecting from the news/internet and not getting angry at the things that I can not change or have little to no impact on my life. Instead, I choose to use that time to do things with my family like go to the beach, the park or simply play in the front yard and talk to neighbors about the weather.

Call to Action

Turn off your phone, put it down, and then walk away. Do the same for the television and then go outside and do something for a few hours. I believe in you, you can do it. I promise you that you will feel better afterward. Try this 1-2 evenings a week or maybe a whole day on the weekend. Worried that a family member will need to get in contact with you? Well if you have an iPhone I’m going to clue you in on one of my favorite ways to disconnect but let people know that you still somewhat care about them. It’s called the do not disturb while driving mode. Sure it may be a bit of a fib but when someone calls it will go automatically to voicemail and if they text a custom message will be sent automatically letting them know you are not by the phone. You can also set it up to where only certain numbers will be allowed to override the feature so you can take that call from your mom.

Here’s a link on how to set it up. I promise you its a game changer!!

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/turn-on-do-not-disturb-while-driving-iphae754533b/ios#:~:text=Go%20to%20Settings%20%3E%20Do%20Not,detects%20you%20might%20be%20driving.

Cut the cord and unplug…

June 3rd was international running day, a day to lace up the sneakers and hit the road for a few miles of exercise. Running when you really think about it is much more then a sport its a basic human movement that we have been utilizing since the begging of our species. Sure a sweet pair of running shoes and the awesome jams that your phone is laying down are a huge help but isn’t ultimately necessary for you to get from point A to point B. But what are you missing out on when the world is being drowned out by yet another distraction.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been on the no head phones team but its been a long time and I would like to offer up a few reason why you may want to join us weirdos.

  1. situational awareness. I don’t know about you but I think headphones have two sound levels, off or maximum volume. And when your blasting your jams at 10 the chances of you hearing anything else going on in the world is almost nothing. Furthermore I know that I have ran right through a minor intersection and had a few close calls with cars when I was so engulfed in my song. I know what your thinking “but music makes my runs go by so much quicker because I’ve got something that distracts me from what I’m doing.” Think about that one for just a second.
  2. This ones stolen from David Goggins. What are you going to fall back on for motivation when the cell phone isn’t there or runs out of battery. It’s really easy to get psyched up when your jam is on, I wish that every time I was feeling a little drained coldplay’s sky full of starts would start blasting right at the point where the beat drops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPRjCeoBqrI ( 1:10 in is what I’m talking about) There’s definitely going to be times in life when the goings are going to be tough and popping in the ear buds is not going to be an option. Wouldn’t that run around the neighborhood be a great training ground for learning how to push through a challenge?
  3. And most importantly. How much time do you get in a day where you aren’t being lambasted with pictures, videos and advertising messages? I’m willing to be it isn’t much, the good news is my answer is probably very similar to yours. So the question becomes when do we have time to contemplate our existence, work through our day to day and global issues and just let our mind wander like a 4 year old? You may not be surprised by my answer but it’s when were out for a walk or run.

Running for me is way more then exercise it’s a cathartic time where I let my mind wander and ask and answer the questions that are front of mind. I think I’ve probably said this before but i’m almost certain 90% of what you’ve read on this blog has been hashed out while pounding the pavement. I am fully convinced that if I was listening to the punk rock station on Pandora we wouldn’t be doing this together on a weekly basis.

When we have that constant digital distraction in our lives its very easy to lose sight of the beauty in the everyday world. I cringe to think how many sunsets, neighborhood cats and toilets that have been repurposed as planters that I’ve missed in my life as I blindly ran towards an arbitrary finish line. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAv4zc7hmk8/

I really believe Ferris Bueller said it best “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”