Sometimes you have to do hard things, especially when you want to take care of your soul. On January 7, 2021 I did a hard thing. I held my finger down on the Facebook app on my phone and I drug it over to “uninstall.”
It has been 7 weeks since that decision, and I haven’t turned back. The week leading up to pulling the app plug was stressful. I was getting hit with stress in every direction- family, work, money, time, duties, responsibilities. And finally, after clicking on Facebook for the 100th time that morning, only to cause me more stress with Covid and political strain, I snapped. Something in my life had to go.
I thought about what was totally 100% in my control. My family wasn’t. Work wasn’t. Money wasn’t. Checking Facebook… was. As soon as I made that realization, the app was deleted.
Now I didn’t delete my entire account. For work and family purposes I can’t. Besides, I sometimes enjoy checking in to see what others are up to. However, now when I want to check Facebook I have to be more intentional with it. I have to open up a web browser. I have to type in Facebook.com. I have to enter my username and password. It takes longer. And I have noticed that I am not tempted to just click on the app. I can even go hours (or sometimes an entire weekend) without checking it.
The oddest thing also happened. According to my phone stats I have freed up 90 minutes of my day. That is right, I spent 90 minutes a day on Facebook. The statistic literally made me sick to my stomach. What was I doing on Facebook that was so important that it took up over an hour of my day?
With that gained time, I have read more, played with my kids more, talked to more friends, have had more mental clarity and focus, and not been nearly as stressed out.
But the best thing is that when I do check Facebook now, and sort through my notifications, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, I really haven’t missed much. Knowing that I am not missing out, has eliminated more stress. I breathe deeper.
Now I know social media was my vice, and maybe it isn’t yours. But is there anything that by simply taking control over it, becoming more intentional, and perhaps eliminating would give your soul a cleanse? Would doing so free up more emotional, mental, or physical space to really help you be a happier version of yourself? What would you do to fill that added time, space, energy? Would you be a better, more present mom and wife? Would you move more? Would you cook more? Would you have more time to relax?
Was uninstalling the Facebook app on my phone hard to do… yes, yes it really was. But was it good for my SOUL? 100% yes. And honestly, I have no intention of reinstalling the app any time soon. 🙂
