Be bored. Yes. Bored. I said it.
It is very easy to be entertained these days. We have smart phones, tablets, portable laptops, TVs on gas stations pumps….it is actually very difficult to truly be bored without an effort of will.
I know I often find myself pulling out my phone to check Facebook, email or whatever even when I KNOW I have no signal and I start to get bored.
How about you? Can you just stand around and be, or do you grab for the device as well?
The problem is, the more constantly entertained we have to be, the less our brain is required to actually work. Just like with our other body parts, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
Your brain can actually become weak. You will likely find yourself forgetting things. You will discover when forced to focus, your mind wanders.
I heard recently that even the presence of your phone can distract you away from an intellectual task EVEN if it is turned off.
You may instinctually glance towards it expecting to see a new message, text or other instant gratification notification. The same way I check it even when there is no signal.
I remember the last time I broke a phone and had to wait a full weekend for the replacement. I would continually go to check it for something. Movie times…where is my phone. Directions to a restaurant…where is my phone. Call my mom. Oops…I actually don’t KNOW her number.
This over dependence on this technology is allowing us to dismiss our own natural abilities.
It is making us weaker even as it makes us feel like we have more.
