What cell phone maintenance can teach us about personal energy?
Image: Shutterstock
The use of portable smartphones is presently a global phenomenon. In fact, the actual ‘talking to others’ function is probably the least used aspect of our cell phones. We use them more so as day planners, mobile banks, personal message consoles and social media hubs. So the phrase ‘they are always on their phone!’ is somewhat of a misnomer. We are often not actually using them as traditional phones. I grew up in the 70s/80s with the dial rotary phone and then the push button variety (with the super-long extenda-cord). Neither of these home phones needed much maintenance from those that used them. In 2019, maintenance of your personal mobile cell phone is an art unto itself. Keeping our cell phones powered, updated and contemporary has become a bit of an obsession. I know I am acutely aware of how much power my smartphone has throughout the day.
One of the concepts I embrace is definitely self-care. So in that vein, I began to connect how dearly we ‘take care’ of our cell phones and how that thinking could be used on ourselves. The industrial, urban lifestyle we presently live is full of to-do lists, fast food, online shopping and impersonal communication. As we speed through our busy days, the first aspect we often neglect is…ourselves. So here are three things that we do to maintain our smartphones, that could actually improve our own lives if we did the same for ourselves:
Make sure you charge up!
American Buddhist pioneer Frederick Lenz coined the phrase, “Everything we do involves energy, personal power. The more energy we have, the more we can accomplish”. There is deep wisdom in this statement about personal energy levels. When we are fully charged, we have a ‘pep in our step’, we have more patience with others…we get more accomplished in a day. When we have a minimal amount of personal energy, our immune system becomes vulnerable, we often get sick, we lack patience…we find it difficult to get things done during the day. So, it seems to me that we have to be just as diligent with ‘plugging ourselves in’ as we are with plugging our smartphones in to charge! There are several surefire ways to energize as human beings:
Eat as much naturally grown food as possible
Move your body. Get regular exercise
Get a good nights sleep consistently
Do not stress over things that are not in your control
Feed the ‘good wolf’…think positive thoughts
Protect your energy!
The concept of protecting your energy from other human beings was brought to me in 1993 as I was reading James Redfield’s Celestine Prophesy series of novels. One of the key insights embedded in the storyline was the idea that humans compete for each others energy. Some people enter a room, engage with you…and you feel fatigued when they leave. Others enter a social space, engage with you…and you feel energized when they leave. Personal energy is a very real aspect of who we are individually. Thus, we are lead into a discussion of how we protect the personal energy that we bring to every human interaction? Being aware that an energy exchange will take place is the first step. Redfield divides energy vampires into 4 categories: intimidators, interrogators, ‘poor me’ folks and the aloof personalities. You must recognize the feel of each of these people, call them politely on their control drama…and protect your energy store from them. Simple. So the above image of the cell phone case represents the tough protection we must have personally as well. Phone care and self-care are similar.
Update yourself regularly!
The automated phone update reminder is a debatable part of owning a smartphone. The cell phone companies will regularly send update phone messages to every person who owns one of their products. These updates are meant to fix bugs and glitches that accompany the fact that our cell phones are mini computers. These updates are also a means of adding new, innovative features to our smartphones. Some people look forward to these updates, others (who tend to be more tech savvy) do not fully trust the regular ‘updates’ that are added to our cell phones. My main connection to the regular update/upgrade concept is that we also need to do this in our personal lives. Improve ourselves! As society shifts and changes, we must also adapt or upgrade ourselves to function positively day-to-day. There are many equivalent ways for humans to do regular updates:
Read something that gives you new knowledge
Take a course that enhances the skills you already have
Go to a conference/event that connects you with others
Search for a mentor/coach who can help you grow
Learn a new languageAttend a lecture/panel to learn more about a field of study
Go ‘back to school’ to add more professional credentialsJoin an online group that discusses self-improvement
We seem to be more concerned with the energy that powers our cars, homes, computers and smartphones. We never forget to to fill up our vehicles, keep electricity flowing through our homes or plug in our tech devices. Ironically, we spend much less time focused on the personal energy that wakes us up every morning! Think of it this way…if there was a situation where petroleum and electricity were unavailable (storms, wars, cyber attacks, etc.), society would be quickly shot back 200 years in the past. All we would be left with is our own divine, unlimited personal energy. So please take care of your own energy levels with the same care and diligence that we take care of our cell phones. Your body is your most important and valuable device.