No matter how much we are lazy, complacent, and lying on the couch:
There is a voice inside of us that will tell us “can’t you see you’re wasting your time, what’s wrong with you!?”
For some, this voice is merely a whisper that they try to repress, but the voice is there nonetheless.
Truth is, we human beings are not built to be in constant lazy mode. We need to act, move, progress.
Why do you think so many millionaires and successful people become miserable?
It’s often because they have reached their goals and don’t really know what to do next.
Get busy living or get busy dying as Stephen King says.
Tony Robbins says progress equals happiness.
We human beings need to be productive, we need to have a mission, vision and goals.
No, this doesn’t mean that we have to be constantly busy.
It’s okay to chill on the couch, to play the Nintendo Switch, to use Instagram or to binge Stranger Things.
We need our moments of relaxation.
The way to actually enjoy such screen-related activities is if you feel that you deserve it.
That’s why we don’t feel good about ourselves when we watch Ozark for one full week non-stop, or when we use Facebook for 5 hours on a daily basis.
Deep down we know that we are not supposed to be doing that. It doesn’t feel natural nor healthy.
Being in consumption mode only doesn’t give you a level of satisfaction and meaning.
Being in production mode only doesn’t serve you either because your body and mind need to relax and unwind.
So you want to harmonize both.
Get productive so you feel good when you do entertain yourself with screen-related tasks.
You got your productive tasks done, so now you’re proud of yourself and reward yourself with some quality movie time with friends, family, or just by yourself.
Schedule your social media use in such a way that you take on this activity after you have done something that made you pat yourself on the back.
Something that connects to your progress, growth, and development.
At the same time, let this reward motivate you to take on that productive task like going to the gym or writing that business plan.
Anticipate the feeling you will get from using social media after you’ve kept a promise to yourself when you said you will do that necessary growth-related task.
Simultaneously, you also want to anticipate the feeling you will get from using social media when you haven’t done what you said you would do.
You won’t be happy with yourself, even when you minimize that voice that says “you know you should have done that.”
At the end of the day, you know who you really are when no one is watching.
You can lie to others, but not to yourself.
You can escape any issues you have with yourself, but paradoxically the more you escape them…the more those issues will determine and control your life in ways your future self will be anything but pleased (to put it mildly).