Day 65 - A Year to Clear - Ringing Phones

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Lesson 65: Ringing Phones

Today’s lesson is about how we react to our phones – the dings, the pings, the vibrations, the calls. How does it make you feel when you any one of those actions occurs? What happens to your breathing and state of mind as soon as you hear the ding of a message, or email? What’s your reaction when your phone starts ringing? The aim is to take a moment of awareness the next time, take in a deep breath and slow down.

I must admit when my phone rings, I immediately get anxious – like who is calling me? I dislike speaking on the phone very much. I do it because I have to and not because I want to. I feel like you have to put on a voice in order to speak to certain people (for example, work people) which does seem a bit fake. I loathe my phone ringing. The next time it rings, I’ll take a deep breath.

Another thing I do, besides spending too much time on my phone, is just looking through apps because I have nothing better to do. I am trying to get away from my phone but it really consumes a lot of my time. I should be concentrating on more in life and I somehow get sucked in. I should just lock it away for the day/night and see what happens.

When I do hear the ding of an email or message, my immediate reaction usually is to read and reply straight away. I feel we live in a society, which makes it seem like answering a message or email, should have a sense of urgency – maybe that’s a construct we need to be away with. I think I rush myself to answer, when I just need to chill. Just be aware it’s there but don’t let it get to me.

This is a good exercise to adopt for all future interactions with people via the phone. Maybe it will eventually allow me to not be so addicted to it at the same time.