How to Disconnect From Life (and find happiness)

One word: Vacation

A time for disconnection. Later today I will be leaving on vacation for a week to beautiful Pensacola, Florida with my girlfriend. I know, at this time, there may not be too many of you reading this blog but that is ok. TheHappySelf.com is still a work in progress with one large article already posted…but many many more to come.

As I got to thinking about this vacation, I started to think about the word “disconnection”. And most of all, how important it is for us to learn how to disconnect from this world of ours in order to save our own sanity. As you know, there are many many things we each find ourselves getting “connected” to.

Here are a few things you may be currently connected to in your life…

• Technology: This includeds your computer, your cell phone, your PDA (do people still use these?), etc. Almost everyone has one of these items, and if you don’t, you are in the minority and I deeply admire you!

• Maintaining Status Quo: This simply means trying to keep up your status among your peers, your co-workers, your neighbors and more. This could be little things like working hard to get that perfect lawn, saving for that nice BMW to fit in, the list goes on and on.

• Maintaining Self Image: This one is big. Many of us are not thin enough, not smart enough, we think we need more friends, or we think we need to have that perfect six-pack. We think all these things will improve our self-image and thus, our happiness.

• Vices to Avoid Yourself: In many ways, vices that you use to avoid facing yourself and your own issues can be related to the self image. Many of the same things can apply. We may work hard to get that perfect body when in fact we are simply avoiding the fact we are afraid of growing old. Or we may use vices like exercise, or becoming a couch potato in front of the TV to simply lose ourselves from our own reality that we may not want to face. This could be things such as a relationship with problems, health issues that need to be addressed, work we don’t want to do, responsibilities to yourself and your kids, etc.

If you don’t learn to disconnect from all these things on a regular basis, you are losing out on some inner happiness. Of course, a vacation is a nice way to do this, but my point is you don’t have to travel to a white sand beach to do this.

There are many ways to disconnect in your life. You can even do it in the comfort of your own household by simply doing…nothing. That’s right.

Simply sit.

Breathe.

And do it in your favorite chair in silence for just 10 minutes.

If you haven’t tried this, give it a shot. If your mind begins to wonder to all kinds of thoughts, simply tell yourself “Thank you Brain” and get back to just feeling your breathe. This is simple meditation and it can help you briefly disconnect and re-connect with your real essence of simply being. It’s like temporarily taking off the shackles in your life.

Other ways you may want to disconnect:

• For one day, don’t watch TV.
• For one day, don’t use a cell phone. Remember those days we didn’t have them? You can do it. It is possible.
• Take an afternoon off from work and go to a park or lake and simply enjoy nature.
• Go to the local swimming pool with your kids and enjoy the feeling of the water.
• Start reading a good book that you find interesting.
• Turn off the computer for a day.
• Check your email only twice a day.
• Sit outside and eat on a nice evening and take in the twilight.
  
• Go get a massage.
  
• Take your kids out for ice cream and sit outside and eat it.
  
• Sit in a park and “people watch”.
  
• Learn to take “power naps” (10-15 minute rest breaks).
  
• Take 10 deep belly breathes when you wake up, and right before you fall asleep.
  
• Take a warm bath.
  
• Grow a garden, and take care of it.
  
• Play with your kids out in the front yard on a Slip N Slide.
  
• Go fly a kite just like you did when you were a kid.
  
• Pick a recipe you might like, and make it with your family or by yourself.
  
• Learn a few Yoga poses and do them daily.
  
• Write down a list of 10 things you can do right now to simplify your life. Then take one and start.
  

Get creative. I know you have it in you. The outcome will be worth it.

The first thing to do is find those things YOU are deeply connected to and then, find ways (even very small ways) that you can disconnect…even if it is just briefly. Do this often and see how you feel. You may be surprised at how good you feel and most of all, how unnecessary the previous connection was.

Don’t just think about learning how to disconnect, take action and give it a shot.

Try a little disconnection in your life today and let me know how it feels!

See you in a week! Pictures and more from the vacation to come!

Posted on June 23, 2009