breaking the habit

Every week in my Language Arts class, I put a new quote up on the board and we take the first 10 minutes of every Monday to discuss it, then focus on it the rest of the week. This Aristotle quote (you should have heard how some of my students pronounced his name) is the quote this week. This morning during our discussion, I found it so applicable to my life that we ended up discussing this quote over half the period. My students had great insight, and this is definitely the thought I am taking with me this week as I rearrange some priorities in my life and make some new habits.

I have two major addictions in my life that need to be broken like, yesterday. Facebook and my iPhone. Sadly, the two go hand-in-hand making it even harder. I spend so much time mindlessly scrolling Facebook. It's ridiculous!! I am lucky to not get caught up in the big comparing game that I know is a struggle. I don't get on and compare my life to others. So what am I even doing on there? NOTHING. Like.. seriously. Nothing. Just looking at my newsfeed. And thinking, "Hmm.. I haven't stalked that person in a while." So I go through their pictures. And their profile leads me to someone else. Then I'm liking and commenting and blah, blah, blah. I feel the need to know what is going on in everyone's lives. How lame is that? Why should I care so much? It's just like my terrible celebrity gossip habit that I have luckily tamed in recent months. Why do the details of everyone's lives matter so much? Shouldn't I be focusing on the things that really matter? But there I sit- scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and getting nothing done. It's been especially hard since I got married because Nathan goes to school at night. When he's home, I don't feel the need to be on Facebook. But when he's gone, I get bored and fill my time with mindless stalking instead of doing things that could actually benefit me and my life.

The phone goes right along with that. Guys, smart phones are the most wonderfully horrible invention ever. They can do so much!! They can do too much. Facebook would be an easier habit to break if I didn't carry it around with me all day. But it's not just Facebook when it comes to my phone. I feel the need to constantly be on it if there is ever a down second. Pinterest, Instagram, email, games, text messaging.. I don't consider those addictions but I do them when there's nothing else to do because I seem to constantly need to be entertained. I am always on my phone. And I feel naked and lost without it. It's just sad. I don't want to be so pathetic that as soon as a commercial comes on during a TV show that I have to get out my phone so I'm not "bored." I don't want to be checking Instagram in the elevator so I never speak to any of my neighbors. I don't want to feel the need to run back out to my car in the middle of the work day because I forgot my phone. I am a pathetic ball of patheticness.

I am technology and Facebook addicted. Admitting it is the first step, right? This all just hit home hard the other day when I told Nathan I didn't want out kids to be like my students- technology addicted video-gamers who have to be constantly entertained. See the irony? I did. And it was humbling. My kids will follow my example. If their mom can't go anywhere without her phone and is constantly checking Facebook, they will learn from that.

I don't think all technology and social media is bad. Blogging is a huge stress relief for me and I love that my life is so well documented. Facebook is great for keeping in touch, when done in moderation. Smart phones can be amazing life-savers. Like when you don't know where the nearest Del Taco is. All these things are fantastic inventions. But they need to be used appropriately.

So I started my Facebook once a day rule. Katie Bastian has lovingly decided to join me. It's nice having someone to be accountable to. I started yesterday and it was nice! I checked Facebook before dinner and not once after. Today I haven't checked once. When I get out my phone for some mindless entertainment, I open up my scriptures app and read a few instead of Facebooking or checking my other apps. I am keeping my phone in my desk all day and not checking just to check. Eventually, I'd like to get to the point where I don't check Facebook everyday and I carry my phone with me as a phone, not an entertainment tool. One step at a time :)