Monday October 21st 6.30 - 7pm
I’m sure if you are anything like me, you have at least at done, or attempted a detox at one time in your life. And even if you haven’t taken the plunge, you may have considered doing so.
But what even is a detox and why should we do it?
To detox is really to remove toxins or stop putting toxic stuff into our bodies. Think about that for a movement, it just shocked me a little as I wrote it. The notion of thinking about a detox suggests that we are willingly putting toxic substances into our bodies. Essentially, we are poisoning ourselves. And for what? Short term pleasure that will ultimately lead to long term pain…
Now when I sat down to write this I didn’t think it would get so heavy that quickly, but I guess the nature of the way we live is that we don’t STOP, think or take time out to assess what all our actions are. We simply go through the day on autopilot. In fact, research shows that the overwhelming majority of what we do on a daily basis, the programs our brain has already pre-recorded, are in fact living on autopilot.
The issue there is, that it is hard to step back, assess and make changes. So, what I wanted to do this week was show you a few detoxes that Sarah and I have considered and taken that have really helped us. And no, it’s not food or drink related…
Some of the biggest addictions in society today and some of the most toxic actions for our body both physically and emotionally are not related to food or drink. It is related to technology and associations.
We too often spend time in technology, in particular social media that brings about comparison and confirmation bias of our world view, which can narrow our opinion and acceptance of others. We then hang out with others who may limit our creativity and encourage us to act a way we know and can feel is not authentically us. And after not too long, we have completely lost our self-identify and understanding of reality. It is hard to see, and like all addictions will get a lot of kick back. You may already be thinking that you are not addicted to your phone or social media, but I want to politely challenge that. When did you last go 2 days without checking it?
I was listening to a world-renowned health expert recently who was running boot camps for teenagers to lose weight and gain self-confidence. He describes how they all went out for a full day of exercise, climbing hills, push-ups, rope climbs, running. A complete day of exhaustion from 6am to 7pm with no food or devices. And when they got back to the camp it was at last mealtime, a treat of burgers and ice cream! Exhausted, you would imagine the ravenous teens would be all over the food. However, what also came out at mealtime? You guessed it, their phones, they allowed them access to their devices. And after such a long day, guess what the teenagers chose to focus on first? You got it, they chose their phones over the food, despite being extremely hungry!
You see the addiction is so strong it can override our basic human needs for food and connection.
So here is my challenge to you. Pick one of these three detoxes below and see if you can go for JUST one week without. So, when next Wednesday’s email comes out you can be proud and see exactly what a difference it has made.
1. No social media.
This includes EVERYTHING, no checking, liking, posting, or commenting on any of the platforms from Facebook to TikTok.
2. Don’t hang out with Negative people.
You know the ones who drain your energy, who leave you sighing just at the thought of seeing them. Commit to one week without speaking to these people.
3. Turn all Notifications OFF.
Turn off all the notifications on your phone and keep it on silent. Choose very specific times to check your phone, once, maybe twice a day. Come on, if someone really needed to get hold of you, they would…
So good luck and be sure to let me know how you are doing!
With love
Tom
