When my kid was 3 years old she was obsessed with TV shows of all kinds. I let her consume this junk because I rationalized it by being a working college mom. Then once day it hit me. I didn’t have/make the time to read to her. If I didn’t soon, she wouldn’t have any interest. So, I canceled my cable service, gave away my TV and occasionally used my laptop to watch movies alone or with her. I was surprised at the peace of mind I experienced the day I pulled the plug. The static and noise was gone. I could hear sounds I hadn’t heard in a long time. I started noticing my kid’s development more. I became so much more awake and aware of the world around me. Then we found Roald Dahl! So many hilarious stories and shared laughs that even now – 10 years later, we reminisce about those nights (turned to years) of pure enjoyment – reading together.
I then realized that I it was possible to cut out more noise from my life. It started with unsubscribing from all magazines, email promotions, and junk mail. I started to become addicted to the wonderful results this project was bringing me. Then – taking it even further – after a crisis in my life, I found out who my true friends were and weeded out the rest. It was surprisingly simple. I realized that I was spending a lot of time and effort being friends with a lot of people who, in the end, didn’t share the same goals, were shallow and not very nice. As painful as this realization was, I soon became happy about the amount of free time I had to pursue other things. I was wasting less time and clearing out more of the clutter in my life.
Today, monitoring my mental diet (and my kids’) has become somewhat of an obsession. Facebook is the last frontier for both of us! =)
