If you were to die today, what would you be disappointed that you didn’t get to do? For me, it is getting to be a dance teacher and work with kids. Most people think that you have to wait until you are older to do anything about your dream. Fun fact: You can actually start today. Our lives are not short; it is wasting time that makes them seem short. Distraction is the enemy.
We all indulge in watching videos and TV shows too often, which distracts us from living our lives to the fullest. Every human is scared that they will have regrets about things they couldn’t do on our death bed. We all yearn for fulfilling our goals or “bucket list” ideas, but have you done something today to take a step further in achieving that goal? University of Scranton studies show that only 8% of people achieve their goals. Every day, we have the chance to take that leap of faith and do a task towards that goal. It is a waste of time to sit around and do nothing about it. If you want to truly live a meaningful and purposeful life, do something!
Social media clogs our brains:
One of our main distractions is social media, but how does social media impact us? The mental impact is horrifying: For starters, cognitive overload. What this means is our brains can only hold so much information, and when we “doomscroll,” we wear out our brains. This can lead to brain fog, poor decision-making, and mental fatigue. The most noticeable symptom is decreased attention span. There are many instances in my life where my lowered attention span showed: while listening to lectures, watching longer movies, and reading. The Journal of Medical Association declared that social media usage among kids aged 9-13 has had an inferior performance on reading, memory, and vocabulary compared to other kids who have not used social media. Social media has academically stunted kids. Social media allows us to achieve tasks in little amounts of time. It drives our dopamine to keep watching. If you think you are doomed or too far in to stop, it is not too late to develop some self-control and discipline when indulging in social media.
Mindfulness:
One of our stress responses is social media. We go to social media for everything. When we are bored, on the toilet, waiting for our food at a restaurant, and anytime we have time for social media. If you have time for social media, you have time to study for the exam that’s tomorrow. One step I have taken to limit doomscrolling is a screentime limit. I can’t speak for Android users, but on iPhone, you can set a limit for certain apps and set times when you can open those apps. I can not open TikTok or Instagram from 6:20 pm-8:20 am, and I only have 30 minutes to be on it. Instead of being on social media, I have used my time to read books and work on things that make me happy. If you have trouble hitting that okay button when given “You hit your screen time limit,” ask someone to hold you accountable. Not only are you letting yourself down, but your friend down by not completing your goal. If a screen limit timer doesn’t work, simply add a reminder or an alert on your phone that makes you aware of when you open each social media app. This creates a conscious signal that you are opening an app that could hurt your well-being each time you partake in it. Remember, it takes 21 days to form a habit, so don’t be disappointed when you fail a couple of days into this, mistakes happen and you learn from them. Keep pushing till it is automatic for you.
Fear holds us back:
When we pick out our outfit for the day you might think of, “I can’t wear ______ because _____ will make fun of me” or “I have to wear ______ to impress _____”. It is the fear of being judged. If you are scared to wear what you want for the day, how will you achieve your dream of becoming a popstar or an author? It takes years of judgment and humility to become or do something big in life. Even if your goal is simple, like working at McDonald’s. That’s a humiliation ritual in itself (just jokes, there’s nothing wrong with working in the fast food industry).
Comfort Zones:
We all have different levels of comfort based on what we are doing. We as humans like staying inside that comfort zone and doing what makes us feel safe automatically. For some people, it is difficult stepping out of their comfort zone once in a while, and it keeps them from doing what they want to do. For example, some people don’t like communicating with movie theater employees, so they ask a friend to buy them their ticket. They really want to go see this movie, but their anxiety is holding them back from doing it themselves. They might feel like they are helpless at some points in their life and that is simply not the case. First, you need to identify what your comfort zone is and what goes out of your comfort zone. To help with anxiety and fear, all you have to do is start small. Doing something small every day to go out of your comfort zone will make a big difference in the future. I normally don’t like starting conversations with people I am not close with, so something I like to do is give random people compliments. If I like someone’s hairstyle that day, I will go up to them and tell them I like their hair. Maybe you need something even smaller, like speaking up when you know the answer to a question at school. All of this is slowly helping you achieve all of your dreams! One da,y you will have an even bigger comfort zone and have a hard time identifying what you aren’t comfortable with.
Negative self-talk:
There is that evil, inner voice in our heads telling us to give up and that we don’t deserve anything. This is a culprit of distraction. Teenagers are so revolved around themselves because we think every little thing matters and that we have to create the best image of ourselves 24/7. That evil voice gets into our heads all the time! It leaves us feeling hopeless and depressed. We think that the present matters more than what potential we have for our future. We care more about what others think of us and less about going after what we strive for. Who cares what “drama” or who your “opps” are right now? We have a life to fill with joy and purpose. We need to start living each day like it was your last. So, how to get out of the negative self-talk and those voices that eat you alive?
That is NOT you:
I learned that giving your evil, inner voice a name and acting like you are in a relationship with that voice. It sounds strange, but it really helps. Would you let your partner tell you that you don’t deserve a good life? Most likely, your answer is no. So you tell that voice that you are deserving of an amazing life and have great abilities that can lead you to a successful life! This doesn’t work automatically, but slowly instead of automatically jumping from “I’m going to bomb this test” to “I’m going to try my best and if I don’t do well, I’ll try harder next time!”
Distractions can send us into spirals from who we are and want to be. Hope this information helps you grow and leads you to good things in life.
