Stop being Online Immediately after Waking Up! 4 Reasons Why!!
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But I really suck at making my morning productive.
Have you ever wanted to wake up feeling fresh and upbeat, and start the day with a healthy dose of productive energy?
But have you always woken up, checked social media for "just a minute" and realized that you've spent an hour or two doing nothing?
That's so me.
Why do I hate this behavior but keep doing it?
Because you are addicted to a drug, basically.
Author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek says, "Engagement with social media and our cell phones releases a chemical called dopamine. That's why when you get a text, it feels good. "
In a 2012 study, Harvard research scientists reported that talking about oneself through social media activates a pleasure sensation in the brain usually associated with food, money, and sex.
"It's why we count the likes and it's why we go back 10 times to see if it's going up," Sinek says, "You have an entire generation that has access to an addictive, numbing chemical called dopamine through social media and cell phones."
Simply, too much of anything is harmful, especially if it's a drug. Addiction kills your valuable energy. You are compelled to repeat the same behavior at the risk of your life, money, and time, even if you hate it.
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1) Your morning determines your day. It really does.
I live in one of the rarest places in Kathmandu where the view outside your window is not the wall of the building alongside. I can actually see the sunrise and ample natural light enter into my room.
This morning, I woke up early, only to see that the sun was shining brightly, making the surroundings look cleaner. The sky was a pleasant blue, and the morning breeze was just enough to give me a fresh breathe.
What a lovely day.
Needless to say, this positivity stayed with me during the entire day. I joked comfortably with my office colleagues and enjoyed my work a bit more.
In fact, I feel so good now in the evening that I decided to write this article.
However, if I wake up and garner negative energy inside me, the same day will look a bit too sunny. The roads are just a bit too dusty. And I'll also notice that my colleague hasn't talked to me since the time I greeted her in the morning.
Look what a tiny change of perspective in the morning will make you notice the good things throughout the day and ignore the bad things, and vice versa.
If your morning routine can decide how you feel during the entirety of the day, will you really let your phone and social media sabotage this pure time?
Every new day should be treated as a gift, and if you check your social media for messages and notifications, you are trying to resume what you left yesterday.
And chances are yesterday wasn't so good. So what? You got a whole new day to change how you feel.
Wake up and listen to peaceful music as I do. If you like to drink or eat in the morning, have a light breakfast.
Or try meditating (I can't). Your mind is your greatest asset. Feed it good things in the first hour.
2) Trust me, you could be doing something better than that.
If you watch one motivational video on Youtube every morning for the rest of your life, do you think you can watch them all?
Not in your lifetime.
There is so much amazing content to consume all over the internet. There are countless books whose teachings will stay with you for eternity. Social media isn't the only gift the digital world gave us.
Listening to podcasts, watching helpful videos on Youtube, reading eBooks, etc. certainly take a bit more attention than lazily scrolling down Instagram. But they are way more productive habits for the mind and the soul.
You don't have to be productive every minute. Spend some time with your soul too. From the morning we wake up till we go to bed, we talk to a hundred people every day but fail to speak to our inner soul. We please everyone but our inner self is left unsatisfied.
Morning can be the time when you reflect on things. Most people like to do this at night, but we tend to get negative emotions at that time because we're tired by the day's work. Thus, you get overtly negative when you try thinking about anything at night.
3) Sorry, but using your phone too often makes you unattractive.
If you are young and full of enthusiasm, you'd like to be active in the dating space. Not a serious relationship necessarily. But we all want to hold hands and recite poetry once in a while. *winks *
And the easiest way to interact with your crush today is online. You are a master in this field. I don't need to tutor you for sure.
But are you the kind who is online 24 hours a day? Are you someone who is very easy to approach, one who replies, "I'm doing the usual stuff," whenever someone asks?
Excuse me for being a little tough, but you are boring.
People love to hang out with positive, upbeat people; not with those who'll bore their brains out.
Spending enough time away from social media makes you an interesting person when you are in it. Because you'll have more stories to tell and things to talk about.
I don't know about you but I need some mystery and secrecy in my partner. I like it when she has a life of her own.
If you are always available like my, well, phone, and if you are always sweet and ideal, I'm bored already. Sprinkle me some spice, sweetheart.
This is why you should have a peaceful me-time with yourself in the morning. This time lets you analyze everything that's going on in your life and relationship. This time is for the person you love the most, which should always be you yourself.
4) Those who overuse social media are at an increased risk of depression.
Reputed online health website Healthline.com claims that studies have linked the use of social media to depression, anxiety, poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem, inattention, and hyperactivity.
Photo By Oladimeji Ajegbile
“What we found overall is that if you use less social media, you are actually less depressed and less lonely, meaning that the decreased social media use is what causes that qualitative shift in your well-being,” said Jordyn Young, a co-author of the paper and a senior at the University of Pennsylvania.
While it isn't clear why using social media causes someone to feel low, numerous studies have shown that people experience a fear of missing out (FOMO) after seeing all the cool stuff their online "friends" are doing.
Since social media platforms have become grand stages to show only the best of ourselves, it highly compels us to wonder whether "they" are living the best life and we are not.
An interesting observation is that "they" also feel the same way because we aren't any less aggressive than others to showcase the "perfect" world we live in.
Thus, one way to avoid overthinking and feeling low for ourselves is by not looking at this imaginary bubble of the world altogether.
Even if that world really exists, working for your dreams offline will make you more likely to get there than gawking on such platforms.
Before You Go
Change takes time. You won't wake up tomorrow and overturn your life in a snap. I sound like I know it all but I struggle as much as you do.
One thing you must have realized is that progress isn't a one-time achievement but is rather a change of lifestyle.
I'll leave you with a quote that means a lot to me:
"Each day is a new opportunity to improve yourselves. Take it and make the most out of it."The writer is also the Co-founder of nepalearn.com
