A Year Unplugged

I have, for many years, made New Years resolutions that I inevitably fail to follow. Sometimes they’re simple like “eat more vegetables” or “workout more”. Sometimes I even post multi-part blog entries about my resolutions. Yet, I still never follow through.

So my New Years resolution for 2014 is simple: discipline.

Now, to be fair, there is quite a bit packed into that “simple” resolution. But instead of making a laundry list of habits I want to change or activities I want to join, I am making the concept of discipline my north star.

In order to do so, I have made a few decisions about the way I’m going to live in the new year. First, I will be deactivating my Facebook account for 2014. Many will scoff (and have) saying that I will last two months at the most. The funny thing is that this isn’t some contest of willpower for myself. I need to remove this distraction that eats up obscene amounts of my time. What is the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning? Check Facebook. Where do I automatically go first whenever I am online? Facebook. Also, I believe it does more harm than good in my life. I have found myself angered over the posts of others on that site more times than I can count over the last few months, further affirming that I need to remove myself from it for a while.

This also extends to almost all social media. I will be stepping away from Twitter and Instagram too. Since they don’t allow you to deactivate an account without deleting it, I will simply be logging out for a year.

Second, I have cancelled my cable television. I find that when I turn on the TV, I end up watching something I don’t care about for hours I don’t have. There are truly only three or four television series I actually care about watching. Two of those I plan to watch at a friend’s house anyway. The other two I can catch on Hulu Plus. Because I am keeping my internet, I will continue to have Hulu and Netflix for when I genuinely want to watch something and not just for background noise.

Third, I will be living on a schedule. I believe that this would drive many people mad. Scheduling out every minute of the day is not something many would willingly decide to do. However, I have always been more productive when working within a schedule, even if it’s made for myself. Some people make checklists to make sure things get done…I make schedules. This absolutely doesn’t mean there isn’t flexibility, but having a schedule will help me be more disciplined with my time.

Fourth, I have chosen some key activities to help me become healthier physically, mentally, and spiritually over the next year. For my physical health, I will be cooking all of my meals (with a few exceptions here and there) and exercising daily. For my mental/emotional health, I will be journaling daily. Having started this recently, I’ve been amazed at how easy it becomes and what a weight it lifts. I’ve also chosen a reading list of 20 books to read throughout the year. This collection of classic best sellers and books I’ve wanted to re-read for a while will provide me the intellectual stimulation I need. For my spiritual well being, I will continue to teach Sunday school and attend my amazing church. The weekly preparation for teaching my class has done wonders for allowing me to continue my study of theology. Additionally, I will be incorporating meditation into my week.

All of these things build on that central concept of discipline. My greatest desire is to spend the next year becoming the healthiest version of myself that I possibly can be. I am going to spend a year unplugged from the distractions that keep me from living into the fullness of my creation. And I plan to chronicle that journey here on my blog. Crazy as it may seem, I’m looking forward to this. At first I was skeptical that I really wanted to walk down this path, but the more I thought about it and planned around it, the more I realized how much of a positive impact this decision could have on me. So on New Years Eve I will toast in the new year with friends, and on New Years Day I will press the button and deactivate my Facebook account, delete social media apps from my phone, and start living a real life instead of a virtual one. Maybe it is a little crazy in today’s social media driven world. But, I’m okay with that.

So here’s to a year unplugged.