The End of the Digital Fast: A Fail or a F.A.I.L.?
It is now early May and the fast I had been doing for Lent is over. It wasn’t a pretty ending – lots of ups and downs and relapses. On the outside, it looks like a failure but then I tried to reframe it, because that’s what I often do so I don’t go down the negativity rabbit hole.
I asked myself – was this really a failure or a F.A.I.L.? First Attempt In Learning. I settled on the latter.
Now you may think that I’m trying to rationalize my behavior and deny that I may have a little bit of a problem with technology. I am not. I do know that I’m addicted to checking email and my socials – the fast made that abundantly clear. But I also know that this alone doesn’t define me. I am a work in progress, so I’m leaning into this F.A.I.L. perspective.
Yes, this fast didn’t go well, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop working on myself. Change is constant. Evolution is constant. Nothing remains static. This fact gives me hope that the next time I do this type of thing that I’ll succeed, or at least do a bit better than I did this year. Isn’t being a human all about starts and stops?
What am I doing now to give me a better shot at success? Well, the first step taken was awareness. I now have solid confirmation about my technology addiction. The answer for me is not going cold turkey, though that would be nice. Running two businesses makes that impossible. But, I can make the urge to check a bit less tempting. I am trying a few strategies to see what sticks and may let you in on what does work down the road.
Along with this awareness is the realization that the time spent on my phone/laptop has taken me away from the one thing I’m trying to do more of, and that’s writing. In fact, I realized that the more time spent on my phone, the more tired I became, which sapped any motivation I had for writing. So, the other day, I did a time audit and discovered I have way more free time than I thought. What have I been doing with all this extra time? Spending it on my phone or occasionally, vegging in front of the TV. Ugh!!! I make myself so mad at times!
So, starting today, I am blocking out more time than I had been for writing or writing endeavors. I have more free time on Fridays, which is today, so I plan on devoting most of the afternoon to my plan.
**Update**
My writing progress has been slow. I am still trying to edit my latest book. I am also in the process of being trained as a journal coach, which will indirectly help me with my own writing. Aside from these two endeavors, I have gotten into the groove of producing my writing-based podcast, which shares the same name as this blog. You can listen to the “Write & Rise” podcast here. I’ve only done a few episodes so far, and I’m realizing how much I love this platform. It brings me back to my radio days when I was a DJ and reporter.
What is bringing you writerly joy these days? How is your writing going? Let me know by emailing lori@loriapeterswriter.com .
