Energy for Social Media Detox Round 7
My approach to social media has changed when I began reading the work of Cal Newport, professor and ultimate practitioner of “digital minimalism.” His time saving tip of only spending 30 minutes per day on email is amazing. I am still unable to stop checking my email feverishly, but so far I have developed some good discipline in blocking Facebook and other social media websites on my devices when I really need to concentrate on a project.
And what is my project for round 7 this year? It’s my mindset.
Sure, there’s family duties, grad school demands, regular work, workout routines/body recomp, and personal consultancies. But all these balls I am juggling are held together by the ENERGY I sustain in my mind.
The very first time I embarked on a Facebook detox was in 2009 and 2010 for the geodetic engineering board examination. I have been using it since then as one of my cyclical life hacks for productivity.
The T. Harv Eker Millionaire Mind Virtual Experience
Last weekend, I attended the T. Harv Eker Millionaire Mind Online workshop and I wholeheartedly participated in the emotional clearing exercises. This is where I made the decision to do my 7th round of social media detox around MINDSET management work immediately after. There were so many gains around that weekend’s workshop activities that I had to vigilantly protect myself from sabotaging those gains before it can take me to the next level.
It was really fascinating. I had been into these types of self-help things for decades. But sometime in my midthirties, I feel like I just “gave up” on trying to elevate my mindset. I just developed this latent form of lethargy that kept me from taking off. I had all these limiting beliefs about what I can or cannot do. It felt like I suddenly subscribed to a life that seeks approval from other people. It seems like I lost myself and I am in the process of finding her again, or meeting the new person she has become, or finally discovering the person that she truly was all along.
Late last year, though, sparks of the vibrant human being unearthed itself. It started seeping through the cracks of routine and even though I am practically in the same place, I truly felt the change. And it shook all the supposedly solid stuff where my feet used to stand. It made me question every single life decision I have made leading up to this moment.
But transformation does not always necessarily translate to uprooting yourself or going to Timbuktu. It sometimes just begins even if you are in the same place but you have a completely different mindset on things.
The Lockdown that Throws You from The Deep End
There are days where even taking a shower is a struggle. During those days where I feel like just hiding from the world, I wear my best lipstick and my most pretty dress and I just find ways to amuse myself at home with my children.
This is the new normal. I am still fortunate to have open spaces here in suburbia where I can jog, pedal away on my spin bike, or do my HIIT, weight lifting, and stretches. In a condominium unit living arrangement that would have been more challenging.
I keep plugging away, trying to find ways to cope in this pandemic. But then occasionally there is this darkness that makes me feel like what I am doing is not making any difference.
Immediately, I have to course correct and persist despite that nagging voice that tells me I won’t be able to make it.
That is all I can say for now. I hope I can post about nerdier things in the coming days, the nerdy things of life that actually make me happy and bring me so much joy.