Would you call yourself a disciplined individual? For me, I ebb and flow, and I suppose by definition, I would not qualify as disciplined, haha. I have weeks where I can be very disciplined in my early risings, Bible reading, physical activity, eating breakfast, etcetera. But once something throws me out of rhythm, it takes much intention to get back on track. Whatever you might be trying to be disciplined in, do you find yourself not staying consistent?
In a society that can draw two far extremes of loving your body, taking it easy on yourself, and not challenging yourself if you need rest. The other extreme is slogans like “you gotta get that bag”, “don’t stop the grind”, or “you can rest when your dead.” How do we balance these two opposing ideas to find a healthy way of living that is still challenging but not wearing yourself thin?
When we go 0-100, we could quickly plummet ourselves straight into burnout. Or we will slowly find ourselves falling into the path of least resistance and back into our old ways. I find myself doing this a lot. I have a certain expectation, and if it doesn’t meet that, then it does not count. Instead, we should strive for consistency, not perfection.
What leads us astray from consistency
This world is constantly fighting for your attention. The question is, what will you grant worthy of your time? Time is limited, and there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things we want to. So, how can we redeem time? The average person spends roughly 4 hours and 37 minutes with their eyes on a screen daily. The majority of the time, I would be confident to say we don’t even remember what we have seen during this time. What could this be for you? Scrolling on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest? Maybe it is mindless, seeing YouTube reel after YouTube reel. And all of a sudden, 10 minutes turns into a whole hour. It happens so quickly, and why does this suprise us? Social media is designed to be addictive, to suck us in and keep us for long.
So, how do I stop scrolling?
We are creatures of habit. You may read this and think to yourself, “I don’t have a problem with scrolling or habits of extended screentime.” My challenge for you is to move your app to somewhere else on your phone screen. Or you could delete the app entirely. It may suprise you how often or how mindlessly you will find yourself clicking on the app. Another tactic is setting screen time limits for the apps you constantly use. This sets the apps to close after the allotted time you set it for ends. You can have a trusted friend or spouse set a password. That way when you get a time limit prompt, you’re not able to just click “Remind me in 15 Minutes” and keep on scrolling. – Yes- I see you; I am not calling you out; I am calling myself out, haha.
Put the phone down
These are all things I am trying to initiate in my own life. Because it is exhausting to see there is so little time to do what we want. It can be depressing to see how fast time is going, and sadly, it is not slowing down. As a song Ryan and I like says, “time is a clever invention, we are helpless participants.” But Friends do not stop there. It can be so refreshing to see the ways we waste time and how we can redeem it instead. We can gain hours back to each of our days just by saying no to scrolling on our phones.
I hope to encourage you to figure out what is stealing your time. What you would rather invest your time in. And, of course, this does not mean you can never look at social media again. Yo can still find a recipe on Pinterest, or enjoy your favorite TV show. All of these things are not inherently bad and are okay to do from time to time. The problem is we have made entertainment an everyday affair instead of a fun treat. Now adays, there has been a huge shift in human history where we are completely sedentary and lost in another world.
Train your brain
Just a decade ago we were lost in another world by reading books. One can argue that this is obviously better because with reading -though we are not moving – our minds are fully engaged. In contrast, when looking at social media, our attention span is set to 10-second intervals. When was the last time you sat and read without getting distracted? I struggle with it as well, but there is hope because our brains are powerful muscles. They just need exercise and training like any other muscle group in our body.
We can do this by stepping away from our screens, disconnecting from technology and thinking. Thats all – by reading, suduko, puzzles, and card games. More examples include good conversations, or even quite walks were we do not have any input but can freely think. Thats right, we are always recieving and need to learn to not have music or a podcast constantly going. Recently, Ryan and I started playing chess at night and it has been super fun and challenging haha. A great way to wind down at the end of the evening. I hope this blog post has encouraged you to step away from distractions and gain meaningful time back into your life.
Prayer
Great Almighty and gracious Father, Thank you so much for your word and for the hope it brings; I know so many people cling to it for the blessed assurance you give us. Lord, if we do not have this reliance on you and your word but we once did, please bless us with the desire and dire need to be in communion with you again, Father. Help us to be disciplined to stay rooted in you. I know we can not do this apart from the Holy Spirit working in us. If the reader has never experienced this before please let them taste and see that you are good, Father. To you alone belongs all honor, all glory, and all Praise. Amen.
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