These days, to say that we’re “always on” when it comes to our constant connection to the Internet can feel like an understatement.
Most people check their phones within ten minutes of waking up in the morning – 89 percent, according to a reviews.org survey. All day, we’re exposed to countless notifications about what people have posted on social media and what is happening in the world. That’s before the thousands of marketing messages the average person is exposed to daily. It doesn’t just feel overwhelming – it can often feel downright inescapable.
Note that this is also a phenomenon that is only going to get worse before it gets better. Ten years ago, getting countless emails was something that people would dread. Now, they get that wrist vibration from their smartwatch that alerts them to a notification all day long. So much so that 75 percent of the same survey respondents said they’re “uneasy when they realize they’ve left their phone at home.”
Especially in this hyper-connected world, finding an opportunity to embrace solitude remains crucial. This is true for self-discovery, creativity, and mental well-being. Thankfully, there are a number of practical strategies that you can use to carve out moments of peace on a daily basis.
Understanding the Modern Day Environment
By far, the most important way that you can find solitude in a hyper-connected world involves making sure that you understand the true nature of that world in the first place. After all, you can’t expect to solve a problem if you don’t understand the full parameters of the problem.
The ease of others’ access to our personal worlds can sometimes seem overwhelming. To that end, it isn’t just the constant connection that stresses people out. It has less to do with the fact that we’re connected to everyone else than it does with the fact that they have a direct connection to us.
Industries from collections to real estate now have skip tracing tools to locate previously hard-to-find individuals. For example, someone can locate you if you owned a home at any point in your life – even if that happened literally decades ago. Past connections can learn a lot about us on social media with just a few clicks. Think about the sheer volume of information you need to provide to sign up for a Facebook account, and now realize that anyone can find that information if they know what they’re looking for.
It is a connected world; it is becoming more difficult to go “off-grid” if you’re really after severing all ties in one fell swoop. That’s why this matter of perspective is important. This is an unrealistic goal, and it certainly shouldn’t be the one that you set for yourself, or you’ll only set yourself up for failure.
What you really need to do is capitalize on any opportunity, regardless of how small or how short, to look inward instead of outward. If that becomes your primary objective, you’ll soon start to realize just how many opportunities there are to accomplish that throughout your daily life, so long as you keep your eyes open and know where to look.
Setting Boundaries with Technology
Over the long term, another step that you’ll want to embrace to find moments of solitude for yourself involves setting boundaries for yourself. That is to say, impose your own personal limits on how much tech you bring into your life throughout the day.
As stated, statistically speaking, most people check their phones within minutes of waking up in the morning. That doesn’t have to be you. Make a rule for yourself that you’re going to first make breakfast or have a cup of coffee, at least. Or, set a ground rule that if you have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, you’re not going to use it as an excuse to check your phone. With rare exceptions, nothing happening at 3:00 am is that important.
These types of things may seem small, but rest assured they can make all the difference in the world. If nothing else, try to put a boundary in place and use it as an opportunity to embrace a chance for mindfulness. Tell yourself that you’re not going to use your lunch hour as an excuse to get on social media – you’re going to use it as an excuse to quietly have lunch.
Embracing Nature Walks
Finally, one way to find solitude in a hyper-connected world is to essentially head in the opposite direction and embrace nature with open arms.
Go on a walk – period, end of story. It doesn’t have to be through a heavily wooded area or anything like that, although this would help. Pay attention to the smell of the flowers. Dial in on the look of the trees. Go out of your way to spot an animal and pay attention to what it does for a few minutes. All these are great ways to connect with nature, and if you do that, you can’t be connected to technology at that moment as a result.
Step Back and Reflect
Overall, these are just a few of the many ways we can reconnect not with each other but with ourselves in a world that often demands our constant attention.
We’re already in a time when just about every second of every day is accounted for by something digital. If breaking news isn’t happening on TV, you’re getting push notifications, emails, and other constant alerts about events that you’re not physically (or mindfully) present for. At a certain point, it becomes noise, so make no mistake – too much noise isn’t good for you.
Thankfully, all hope is not lost. By strategically incorporating practices like those outlined above, you can reclaim the power of solitude in your life – at least to a certain extent. Even if the moment only lasts for a minute or two, it doesn’t matter. It can be a proverbial oasis in the middle of a vast desert, so to speak. You can still unlock the transformative potential of each one of those moments, all while coming out better for it on the other side.
