I Stopped Waiting and Started Living
How Breaking Free from Distraction Transformed My Life
I started to notice common thoughts in my day-to-day experiences. I was always waiting for what comes next.
There are many times in our life where we wait for something. In lines. At a stop light. Standing at the microwave and watching the seconds tick by.
But I started to recognize that I was waiting for something in most moments of my life.
I would do a hike and reach the end destination and find that I was “waiting” for what’s next. When do we turn around and head back?
When at a restaurant I would “wait” for my food to come. Then when it came, I’d scarf down my food, and not taste it. Then I'd sit there and “wait” for the check. “Wait” to leave.
My life had become a game of “waiting”.
At some point I started to catch myself doing this. What was I waiting for? I started to wonder: what were the moments that I wasn’t waiting? What was I waiting for?
I came to realize that the ONLY TIME when I wasn’t waiting was when I was consuming something. Food, TV, TikTok.
These were moments in my day where I had rushed through everything else. Made my dinner, taken care of all my obligations, and could finally sit in front of the TV and shut off my brain.
I see this a lot in kids and I struggled a lot with this as a teenager. During holidays, my skin would be crawling while at family dinners. All I wanted was to escape the table and get back to my computer and play World of Warcraft.
I was impatient, crabby, and not fun to be around during those times. Why would I bother being anywhere else unless I was existing in a world giving me those dopamine hits?
I also see this in adults of all ages. We've become masters of distraction, always searching for the next hit of stimulation.
Our smartphones are sources of constant stimulation. Each notification, each swipe a little reminder of the content we can consume. The uncomfortable boredom or anxiety that we can avoid.
I’m not here to judge anyone who is finding their bliss with a Netflix binge. (I’ll be the first to admin that a good Great British Bake-Off marathon can be good for the soul.)
However: I started to wonder:
What if, instead of rushing through everything, I treated these moments like they weren’t a means to an end?
What if I could put my focus and attention on to what is happening right now? Rather than focused on the moments I could consume something in the future?
I began to experiment.
During my morning tea, instead of scrolling through news or checking emails, I started to taste it. The warmth from my favorite mug. The steam rising and birds outside my window.
Walking became different. Instead of seeing my walk as something to get through, exercise to check off a list, I felt the ground under my feet. Enjoyed the colors of the world around me. Watched how leaves move in the wind.
Conversations transformed. I found I was actually listening to my partner talk about her day. I was more engaged. Listening wasn’t something I was trying to “get through” any more before I could scroll through the next thing on my phone.
I was able to recognize how I was feeling in every moment. I found I could embrace the discomfort of boredom. I discovered moments of clarity and creativity that only exist in spaces where you give your mind a break from it all.
I started to realize that operating this way was how the human brain is meant to operate. I found new energy, confidence, and a lightness that surfaced from no where. Additionally, my newfound energy was contagious! It helped others around me transform.
That led me to recognize that anyone can do this to massively improve their wellbeing.
And although it’s not easy, it is simple.
I invite you to do the same: Stop waiting.