Decluttering your mind

Jan 31, 2022

If you read my last blog, you know that I ended 2021 on kind of a rough note. I was distracted by, and some might say addicted to, my phone/screen. I spent hours and hours a day just scrolling and scrolling wondering why I felt so distracted and distant from God. 

 

I wanted to update you guys on where I am now, a month into the New Year. 

 

I decided to take the month of January off of social media completely. No instagram, facebook, snapchat, tik tok, random youtube videos, etc. The only thing I allowed myself to watch were any new uploads from the Youtuber’s that I was already subscribed to. 

 

I know this whole thing may sound cliche, but I genuinely had felt the Holy spirit hinting at me to do this, and I kept debating doing it for a long time. I would always think ahead and wonder what posts I might miss or want to post and just never got around to it. 

 

The fact that I was even concerned about future posts shows how much I needed to back off and reevaluate what social media was to me. 

 

So I finally did it and it started right when the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. Now, 31 days later, I can say that I am SO HAPPY I did. 

 

This break has allowed me to have way more time on my hands. I've been able to have a quiet time, read, make dinner, keep up with house chores, catch up with people, simply enjoy life, etc. I haven’t compared my life to anyone else’s. I haven’t been distracted by the outside world. It has made all the difference. My mind has felt so free and present.

 

Instead of waking up and immediately scrolling, I’ve sat down with my coffee to do my quiet time. I’ve simply enjoyed my morning by just looking out the window and taking in nature or the little things around me.

 

Instead of mindlessly scrolling to pass time throughout the day, I’ve been able to check in with the Lord and catch up with Him. I’ve genuinely embraced simplicity, slowness, and the present more than ever and that is something I’ve been needing. 

 

I have failed a few times but ultimately I have blocked out the outside world completely. 

 

I am not saying that I am never going to go on social media again, because that is not the case. What I'm saying is that this was an act of obedience that the Lord has used to show me the potential of how life could always be if I just maintained and rightly prioritized a healthy relationship with social media and my personal relationship with Him. 

 

This little break has got me thinking about something else kind of random too…. Why is it that I follow so many people on Instagram that I don’t even know or have any personal relationship with? Like I follow over 900 people... But why?? 

 

I would love to one day just do a complete refresh and make a new account and only follow those that I actually know, care about, am inspired by, or at least say hi to, but who knows…. that’s just something that I am thinking out loud as I am typing this. 

 

Anyways, going forward I am prayerfully going to implement boundaries in my life to continue this healthy rhythm. My mind has felt so much more aware of positive things and things that truly matter. 

 

I want to encourage you to think about the relationship that you have with your screen/social media. Is that what is causing you stress or mental clutter?

 

Social media can be good but it can also feed us a lot of junk and that's okay to admit too. I just want to be that voice of encouragement to anyone who has debated something like this. Just do it! In the grand scheme of things, one week or one month is nothing compared to your life.

 

If you do it, I bet you will notice a difference and be so happy and proud that you did, especially if it is out of a heart of obedience. Allow the Lord to show you things in the quietness of the present. It is so personal and beautiful and is definitely a way to declutter your mind. It is for me at least.

 

-Crystal 

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