Turn off the TV

Sep

Posted by Dennis Liegghio » Add Comment »

Want a calmer mind? More time? Better sleep? Better overall health? Turn off the television. Go out for a walk, pickup a book, meditate, create something, do something fun with someone you love… your possibilities are endless!

I have to admit, I was a TV junkie. There was always something to watch, and it was an easy way to escape for a few hours. I thought it was relaxing. It certainly felt and seemed that way. I would watch it after work, I would fall asleep watching it, and I would watch it in the morning while I was getting ready. I often felt stressed out and anxious, I had trouble falling to sleep (and staying asleep) and my debt was mounting because I would buy stuff I didn’t need on credit, which lead to more stress and anxiety. What was the source of a great deal of this excess stress, anxiety, lack of sleep and desire to spend recklessly on stuff I didn’t need? The television. Programming exists for one, simple reason. To sell you something. Lots of things. Things you don’t need.

The constant barrage of imagery is mind-numbing and detrimental to our attention spans, ability to focus and our overall well-beings. TV keeps us sedentary, unnecessarily in fear and always wanting more. Something better, or new and improved! Something we absolutely CANNOT live without! Something that will make us healthier, stronger, leaner, safer, more desirable, something that will improve our status, display our success, a bright shiny thing to show everyone else that we are somebody too. It will never end, and it will never be enough.

I’m not saying that you need to cancel the cable service, or throw your television out the window, though it’s not a terrible idea. As with most things in life, what I’m suggesting is moderation and the basic understanding that what you are watching is not real and is designed to do only one thing – sell you something. Take some small steps towards reducing your time in front of the TV and see what happens.

Suggestions for reducing your TV consumption:

If you have a show or two that you really like, set your DVR and watch without the distraction of commercials, on your schedule, not the networks.
Track how much time you spend watching TV each week and try reducing it by 30 or 60 minutes each week.
Try a “no TV” day once or twice a week (or a TV free week once a month).
Turn off the television while you are eating, or getting ready for the day, or doing something else.

Who knows? Maybe once you start discovering all the benefits of reducing the amount of television that you consume, you might just end up trashing the thing anyway!

** this post is an excerpt from Building a Foundation for Happiness