Most of us seem to have a phone in our hands or in our pockets more hours in a day than not. We can’t leave a room without taking our phone with us for fear of missing something. I believe that we have stood up our phones to be the ultimate connection to external validation. Sure, there are legitimate conveniences and needs answered by our devices, but we have taken it too far. This is a global epidemic.

As a result of our misuse of our phones, I believe that we are also losing some other fundamental skills like: concentration, patience, and the ability to talk face to face (or via a phone call) to real people. Our ability to manage our instant gratification and our ability to communicate is slipping away.

I’m sure you have been to a restaurant and seen a table full of people focusing on their phones instead of each other. I’m not trying to be a downer with this post. I just wanted to share some observations that we all really know.

What’s the solution? Just ease off of the artificial and move more towards the natural.

Here are some tips I use to help combat my phone use:

• Leave my phone in another room when no one in my family would need to contact me
• Leave my phone at home when I am out and about with another person that has a phone
• Leave my phone in the car when I go to a gathering
• Go outside and breathe fresh air or go for a walk

I don’t think it’s fair to nature to avert our eyes from its beauty to stare at a screen for hours a day.