During April, I was challenged to try the Paleo diet. Basically, the diet only allows you to eat what a caveman could eat - fresh fruit, meat, vegetables, nuts, eggs. No bread, sweets or even milk!
And I failed miserably.
Okay, it wasn't a total loss. The bigger goal in doing the diet was to watch what I was eating, and not just eat the same junk I've been eating since I was a sugar-hungry kid. So, I did learn about some healthy foods by branching out, as well as how to resist the call of sugar.
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While I was doing this, I began to wonder, "What if I applied these same principles elsewhere?" I mean, those 'paleo' men seemed to live pretty well without Dr. Pepper or bread. What else could I do without? Where else am I losing discipline?
One of the biggest areas for me is the internet. I can get into this (sick) cycle of checking Facebook, reading there for a while, then hopping to Twitter to read all of the updates, then heading to Google Reader, catching up on some blogs, use Google Explore, check CNN, FOX News... then back to Facebook. What?! Where did that hour just go? Just like this:
Somehow this social media / connecting thing has become an idol in my life. Even if I'm just surfing "Christian" blogs and John Piper's twitter feed, I can still waste time trying to feel 'connected'. It's consuming, it's an idol. There is a void of lonliness which social media tries to fill, but it is always lacking. So I keep coming back.
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So, I thought, "What if there was a Social Media Paleo Diet?" What would it look like?
I don't think all social media should be cut out, but it definitely needs it's boundaries. Strict ones. The goal isn't to become absent online.
The goals would be to:
1. Limit time in social media to get to important things. There are good, beneficial uses for social media. But, I rarely get to them b/c I stop and watch another "Friday" remix or a laughing baby.
2. Get more involved with real relationships. A big goal would be to build more real community. Write a letter. Volunteer. Grab some coffee with a friend. Start a regularly-meeting group. At the very least - stop checking twitter while ten of us are sitting together.
3. Remove Social Media's power over me. The final goal would be to begin to realize just how hooked I am to status updates, links, and tweets. I believe it has more power over me than I think. It's a very deceptive idol, this desire to be 'connected.'
Sound interesting? I'm going to think more on what it would specifically look like. But, I'm shooting for starting this in May.
We do not do discipline because we are strong, but because we are incredibly weak.
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