Ask and You Shall Receive

In the last couple posts, I have talked a lot about fear. I mentioned how fear holds me back and influences my life in more ways than I appreciate or want. I even started focusing on how to overcome them and be a better version of myself. The first few days went spectacularly! It is only fitting that the Universe’s response to my attention to fear is to throw me against it head first just to make sure I didn’t back out.

Aside from deaths or serious accidents, one of my biggest fears is my phone being lost or stolen. To some of my older friends and family the idea that losing a piece of plastic is my worst fear is laughable. I was even told once “this is what is wrong with your generation!” and my resulting eye roll probably didn’t help one bit. I am pretty confident that most people between the ages of 15 and 50 can relate to my fear though.

I mean think about how much of our lives are on those tiny plastic devices? Social media accounts, mobile banking, photos, important contacts, and so much more. There is an app for EVERYTHING and for a reason. We all use them. A lot. Not to mention the price tag on those suckers is not exactly a small sum.

Well, to my utter disdain and panic my phone was stolen last weekend. I guess it is technically lost and stolen because I lost it first but then someone decided to adopt my phone as part of their family rather than giving it back or turning it in to the lost and found. Rude! Apparently, me being open about needing to let go of fears was translated to “Hey Universe! Could you force me to face one of my biggest fears? Thanks, love you!” and guess what! It obliged.

I personally did not realize just how much of my life was organized inside my phone. I started writing down each task I struggled with because I would normally use my phone!

• Grocery Shopping – all of my shopping lists are on my phone along with my price comparisons.
• Meal Prepping – Guess where all my healthy recipes are!? Yep, my phone.
• Health Planning – My calorie counter, nutrition guide, weight tracker, all of it. On. My. Phone.
• Yoga – I ingeniously paid for a nice Yoga App about 4 months ago…
• Blogging – I respond to 99% of comments, likes, follows, Tweets, emails, etc. about Wit and Whimsy on my phone.
• Wedding Planning – Guest lists, vendor ideas, and our color scheme choices are all tucked away.
• Wake up for work – I don’t even own a normal alarm clock.

This is just stuff I tried to do in ONE DAY. Obviously none of it is impossible without a phone and I managed to complete 5 of the 7 tasks phone free (Yoga and Calorie Counting haven’t worked so hot). I am all for convenience which is why I have fully utilized the technology available to me. I don’t actually believe there is anything wrong with having so much of our lives on phones.

There have been loud and long debates about the wisdom of using phones to manage our lives and the consequences of over indulging in phone usage but I have never seen an issue using the tools we have. Work Smarter Not Harder is my go-to here. With that being said, this experience has made me realize that utilizing convenient options shouldn’t replace the ability to do things without it. I discovered I didn’t just use my phone, I let myself become quite nearly dependent on it.

Now that the initial panic has worn off and the feeling of being totally lost has subsided a bit I have decided to embrace this experience and try to learn from it. I have three more days before I can get my replacement phone meaning three days of blog posts focused on living phone free including the interesting observations, the unexpected benefits, and the situations that are just downright NOPE this just sucks because let’s be real this is not all going to be sunshine and daisy rainbows falling around me.

I would love to do two posts a day for this separated by about 12ish hours starting now! Don’t hold me to it but I am going to try my best.

The first NOPE, this just sucks is I don’t actually have a way to respond to comments or anything until I get to a physical computer so I request your patience. I absolutely want to hear your opinions and thoughts on everything and will respond the moment I am within typing distance of a computer! 😊

Be on the lookout for my first Phone Free post this evening and in the meantime share with me your thoughts and ideas on the matter!

Have you ever unplugged from your phone for an extended period? What was it like? Were you surprised at anything? I would love to hear all your thoughts and if anyone is interested I would love to feature your answers on one of the upcoming posts as a collaboration piece, too!!

May the Wit be With You! ❤