Is Technology Sucking the Life Out of You?

I spend most of my days in front of a screen; I find myself spending most of my time staring at either my phone or my computer. I spend more time glancing at pictures of my friends than looking into their eyes. I have been consumed and captivated by the joys and opportunities I’ve found inside my phone while the richness and beauty of my reality sit on the sidelines. And girl, I know I’m not alone. I’m burned out, and I think we all are. We are tired of the screens but can’t see beyond the glare; the call to pick it up and scroll, work, discover, and do more and be more than we are today is stronger than ever.

Do You Feel the Pressure?

Do you feel it too? The compulsion isn’t new; if you have been living with your phone in your hand long enough, you know this well. But this is more than being caught up in the pressure of conforming to a pattern we were not meant to fit. Burn out is real. So, how can we take care of ourselves, embrace the burn out, and live in a world that functions through phones? How can strong, graceful women and culture merge?

Can I be honest with you? I don’t have the answers. I don’t know how we can resist our mobile devices. There are plenty of articles with suggestions and ideas for us on how to limit our use and spend more time being present in our realities and taking care of ourselves than being plugged into our phones. (Here’s a great one!)

Are You Burned Out?

It’s sad how easy it is for us to know more, meet new people, and curate a life all through a gadget. No wonder we are burned out; no matter how hard we try or how much we learn and create, what’s on our phones isn’t real. It’s loud, sexy, distracting, and full of information, but we can’t handle it all. We weren’t made to process all of the information that is now at our fingertips. It fries our brains and distorts our ability to embrace our beautiful lives, to see the beauty in the extraordinary of our everyday ordinary.

I’m worn down and feel caged and pressed in on all sides. I’m overwhelmed and tired. How can such a small device have so much power over me and how I think and operate? But, burned out and worn-down isn’t the way our lives have to be lived. I know I need more face to face conversations and less Facebook comments. I need friends to do life with instead of Instagram FOMO scrolling. I need to get out and go on my own adventures instead of envying others.

Join Me on the Journey

I’m on a journey. I’m grateful for all the opportunities and information found through my mobile device. But, I’m not into social media anymore. I don’t see the point in it all. Yes, I’m a bit dramatic, but really, I have zero desire to be online. I’m tired. I’m not interested in hearing everyone else’s opinions and thoughts on the world because I’m fighting to find my voice again. It snuck up on me. One minute I was rocking and rolling as a social media influencer in the making, with big dreams and moving ahead with the formula presented to me for success and a “future.” The next, I’m walking across the graduation stage and into a new season of life, trying to discern what is next. Where am I supposed to go? What door am I supposed to go through?

I’m thankful for the open doors that the screen provided, but sometimes I need to shut the doors.

So here I am. I’m burned out and scared because the world spins on an axis of screens filled with captions that bring “success.” For now, I’m done. I’m diving back into the land of the living, the world of paintbrushes, ink on paper, books, coffee conversations, and connecting back into my life. As I plug into myself and my joys without agenda, my phone is by my side.

I don’t have this figured out, the burnout, but this is where I’m starting. Know that you are not alone in feeling fried, used, and abused by your phone. We’re walking through new territory, one that we were never supposed to conquer, but only explore at our leisure. It’s a journey.