Breaks. We all take them.
As we should.
Don’t get me wrong though, consistency is good too. But if you’re forced to have a break, why not benefit from it strategically?
So, today, let’s talk about how to use these breaks for maximum advantages.
Detach to Reconnect with your Authentic Self
I don’t know about you but at least for me the online world seems like an endless stream of..well, everything. There’s always more to consume, more to create, more and more stuff demanding your attention. Posts, updates, newsletters, tutorials, must read this must read that, new methods, just everything!
There’s no end to it!
So, after a week of not taking part in any of this, and spending most of my time at the beach, I remembered Jocko Willink’s writings. For those who are not familiar with him, he’s A retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer who has authored a few really neat books (including kids’ books).
Go look him up!
One of the key concepts he talks about is detachment.
And detachment not only applies in combat and business but everyday life too.
To generalize a bit for our purposes here, here’s what all you can achieve pretty fast when you detach from social media and just look at what you’re doing:
- Step back to observe your actions objectively without bias and emotions
- Recalibrate the balance between being involved in everything and working only on what matters
- Understand better when to unplug from discussions and when to engage in them
I know, I know, we always talk about hwo consistency is king. But if you never detach, you’ll lose touch with your broader objectives as the algorithms pull you deeper and deeper into likes, shares and content consumption.
It’s a weird vortex.
Three Specific Benefits of a Social Media Detox
For this post I went back to my notes on Jocko’s books and podcasts.
(Side note: Readwise + Notion integration is THE WAY to keep and revisit notes)
I think there are three primary benefits to detaching from social media, even just for a week.
1: you’ll get to enjoy a greatly enhanced perspective on nothing less than reality itself.
Imagine forming your viewpoint of the world through curated self-advertising. Because that’s really what social media is. People just posting their wins and – even worse – templatized superhero-versions of themselves. Very few people are what they project in social media. But that’s how your brains will perceive them.
Reset that perspective by connecting with real people and focusing on your journey in the world outside the feed. Take some time to think what your goals are in the world and social media before diving back in.
Trust me, your expectations of social media will change a lot just in a week!
2: you’ll increase your mental calm.
The constant source of people winning more than you, achieving more than you, or just projecting some unachievable standards is a source of stress and anxiety.
Detaching from all that non-stop nonsense will help you look back at your own history and be more proud of your own achievements.
Again, this will just help you feel overall better and hopefully set more realistic goals for yourself.
3: detachment from the digital world will help you work on your real-life relationships.
Just put away the screen for a while, and work on talking with people.
There’s no better reason than that.
I know we all have amazing friendships online, but if you’re blessed with family or close offline friends, stepping away from the social media jungle can open your eyes to what you have been missing outside it.
For me, just not having to update or check anything for days was a surprisingly educational experience… so much so that I might just get used to it.
But I won’t. I got plans.
Big ones, and they have to do with inside AND outside the social media bubble!
…and speaking of outside…