In our technology-obsessed world, we now use our smartphones for work, information, and entertainment. As a result, we have developed a new set of emotional and behavioral patterns – patterns that make us feel unhappy, unbalanced, and unconnected.
But it’s not like we can just “quit” our phones – we’re reliant on them for our livelihood, communication, and the short bursts of happiness they give us. We’re in a predicament where our phones are hurting our happiness, yet we can’t stop using them. So, how do we beat this “smartphone syndrome”?
I spent the last year trying to answer this question for my new book, Outsmart Your Smartphone. Here are seven key steps from the book – steps that can help you build a healthier relationship with technology… and you won’t even have to throw out your phone.
1. Build Foundational Skills
It’s not uncommon for us to give up on something if we aren’t successful. So if we try to create a better relationship with our phones in ways that are too challenging for us, we might struggle, get frustrated, and eventually give up. We give up on our goals because we have learned something – we’ve learned that we can’t possibly do this darn thing. We must just be stupid or broken or something. So we figure, why try?
