In 1969 Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and gave us one of the most iconic lines , “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. While many focused on Armstrong’s accomplishment of being the first man on the moon, Armstrong left this experience with a huge realization.
“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.” –Neil Armstrong
Many astronauts have shared with us the Overview Effect, which is the cognitive shift that astronauts feel when able to view Earth from space. Being so far removed from Earth, there is a rushing sense of humility by seeing our planet while existing off of it. When understanding how small we are in comparison to the universe we are gifted a form of freedom. With this mindset, we can soberly see the importance we assign to our lives is often misplaced.
Hari touches on this during his stint of abandoning technology to detox and feel better about life in our current society:
“Now I found myself staring at something very old and very permanent. This ocean was here long before you, I thought, and it will be here long after your small concerns are forgotten” (Hari 25-26).
Though the experiences of Armstrong and Hari involved them being removed from their societies, it seems as though that is the only way we can escape our lives. In this modern age of technology we stay connected to everyone and everything just by owning our phones. Turning off our phones is not enough because we are still connected through advertisements and our different forms of employment. As well as taking short breaks pose as a temporary fix whose effects are determined by how much media we consume in a short period of time.
These observations are not meant to fill your mind with self defeating thoughts, but they are to show you what you are currently surrounded by. This is not a matter of running away to a remote location but a call to execute a plan of disconnection right where you stand. Being able to build the skill of disconnecting while still being present is the key to being able to recharge. Thinking of ourselves as the battery of an iPhone may help put everything in perspective. Consuming media all day without any breaks resembles using an iPhone that has been on 10% battery life. Everything is slow with a feeling of doom set above regarding the pending shutting off of its screen.
“I noticed that if I spent a day where I experienced three hours of flow early on, for the rest of the day, I felt relaxed and open and able to engage— to walk along the beach, or start chatting to people, or read a book, without feeling cramped, or irritable, or phone-hungry” (Hari 60).
When completing, The New York Times focus test the answer on how to disconnect without physically having to escape my town became clear. Spending ten minutes observing Nocturne in Blue and Silver by James McNeill Whistler showed me the benefits of focusing on one thing for a longer period of time. It was a lovely mental escape experiencing all of the hues chosen by the artist, the artist’s brushstrokes, the possibility of the backstory of the painting, suddenly I was in a different reality contained in one painting. Not only did I experience a nice mental escape but I was inspired to create! I had to stop myself from picking up my notepad and pen to continue to focus on the exercise but when consuming social media I do not gain the same energetic inspiration.
If observing paintings isn’t your niche, then you want to find an activity that pulls you into your flow state. This is what will energize you and restore your mental capacity to perform in other areas in your life. It is important to be able to identify what your flow state is in order to identify if the activity you are engaged with opens a portal to it. So what exactly is a flow state ?
“This is when you are so absorbed in what you are doing that you lose all sense of yourself, and time seems to fall away, and you are flowing into the experience itself. It is the deepest form of focus and attention that we know of” (Hari 55).
Take some time to think about the activities you like to engage in and ask yourself, besides losing time due to being absorbed into them. Do they leave you feel energized and focused? Or do they leave you feeling drained and unable to string your thoughts together.
After reading about flow states I decided to conduct an experiment for myself during the month of September. In the mornings before I start my work shift, I will read from a paper medium then journal my thoughts and findings. Once I complete my work day I will go for a walk in nature in order to bring my day together. I will share my findings with you here whether practicing controlled disconnection influences my social and work outputs or if it is a lost cause.
Til then !