Get Real About YOUR TECH USE

from Mindful Magazine February 2023 - Peace of Mind

IN THE SWIM OF THINGS

How honest can you be about your use of technology? Try this journaling practice to get clear about your intentions and aspirations around your tech, and how your actions align with them. See how honest you can be—no need to judge yourself. The intention of this practice is to become clear about the habits that serve you and those that don’t. Once you have that information, you can make informed choices about your tech use.

GO DEEPER

The Environmental Impact of Tech

Knowing the impacts of our buying habits (like getting our hands on the newest, fastest, shiniest smartphone) is the first step to becoming a more mindful consumer. mindful.org/ tech

Dig Deep 1

Think about what’s really important to you. What do you want to have seen or demonstrated as part of your life? Choose the five values that are most important to you.

2 Take each of these values and do a free write on what they mean to you. For example, if authenticity is a value you chose, what do you mean by that? What does that look like and feel like in your life? Go through each one and get clear on what you’d like to be guiding your choices.

1What do you love about your technology? What are the reasons and ways you use it? 2

What is the impact of technology on your life, both positive and negative?

Consider how an ideal day might look for you. Write it out in as much detail as you can, including how you’d use technology. What will you do? How will you do it? How will you feel?

3 Choose one of those values and think about a time when you really lived it. What did that feel like in your body? What kinds of thoughts did you have?

In what ways do you live your values while using technology?

5 In what ways might your technology use be misaligned with your values?

6 What changes, if any, would you make to really support living your values? (Think about what you might want to do more of and what you might want to do less of.)

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Even those who identify as being addicted to technology have used mindfulness to investigate their behavior.

Cam Adair, former gamer and founder of Game Quitters, said:

Meditation and exercise helped me a lot, but the biggest thing that helped with the cravings was becoming aware of them. I started to feel the sensation in my body and recognize that it was controlling me. The more I craved it and didn’t feed the craving, the more it validated that I shouldn’t be gaming.

While this may be an extreme example, all of us have technology habits we can explore. All of us can benefit from cultivating kindness toward ourselves and our investigation. All of us can use support in doing this, knowing we are not alone. Begin your investigation into your own habits and consider discussing what you notice with friends or family.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what works for you and what doesn’t. Consider this a giant science experiment on yourself. What can you learn? What happens when you really start paying attention? Are there subtle shifts you can make to feel more alive in your life? More connected? Better rested? Less distracted? Less stressed? As my mindfulness teachers often say, don’t believe me. Don’t believe a single word I say. But do try it out. Do be honest with yourself. Do see what happens. ●

Resource

Habit Change mindful.org/ habit-change

Learn about the mechanics of habit formation and observe them at work in your mind and body by injecting curiosity and kindness into the process.

Excerpted from Attention coaching.mindful.org

Hijacked: Using Mindfulness to Reclaim Your Brain From Tech , by Erica B. Marcus. Text copyright © 2022 by Erica B. Marcus. Reprinted with the permission of Zest Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this text excerpt may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

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