While working away from home the last few weeks, a McDonald’s I got breakfast at (2 Sausage McMuffin with egg) had a sticker on its drivethrough stanchion: “Parenting well is 2% effort and 98% putting away your phone.”
Aside from harsh, there is a lot of truth their.
The underlying message is “are you disciplined?”
Can you put your phone down long enough to focus on the most important people in your life: your children?
I think the more abstract application is even more important: “are you disciplined enough to focus only on your priority?”
And after that, do you remained discipline to focus on the next-most-important thing?
(And on down the line.)
Because let’s be entirely real: the people on Facebook aren’t the most important people in your life. (If you disagree with me, take some time away from your phone, think about who will be there for you when it all hits the fan, and you’ll realize I’m right. Granted, you might contact those people via a Facebook app, but the actual people aren’t the ones you interact with most on your (or their) feed.)
Instagram may be even worse: no interaction, just looking and coveting.
And on down the way.
Are you disciplined enough to live a real life that is fulfilling to both you and the people you interact with?
Could you truly write off everything in your life that wasn’t the absolute top quality?
If you could be 1% better every day by doing so, would you be willing to accept the progress and growth that you’d achieve?