Kicking The Habit

For about a year now I've been thinking about kicking my facebook habit.

You'd think this would be an easy thing to decide; it wasn't.

First of all, there are so many wonderful people that I've connected with on that site that I love being in touch with.  My family whom I rarely see can be instantly updated on what's going on in my life and I theirs.  When I have an event or workshop planned, facebook is a super easy way to get the information out to the masses.  What if I miss something 'important'?  What if everyone forgets about me?  What if my business fails because I'm not on facebook?
I am addicted to facebook.  And my addiction goes deeper than just checking on friends status' updates and the pleasure of wasting precious time.  My addiction plays on my need for approval and acceptance.  It is also often an outlet to feed my pain body the drama that it needs to maintain it's strength.  My life has become nothing more than a potential status update.

Seriously!

I need to break my dependency on this addiction so that I can move forward.  In fact, I've set a quit date and I've begun the emotional phase of releasing something that had become so prominent in my life.

I reasoned with myself for a long time about this decision.  The beliefs that I  held about my presence on facebook kept me there, enthralled by the stories people would tell and my own stories as well.

The reality is I think I've outgrown it.

I've outgrown the need to be involved in everyone's business.  It's exhausting.

Oh, I've heard the argument "I'm just checking on statuses, I'm not getting INVOLVED"  Don't kid yourself (like I have), even if you are just checking up on someone you are getting involved in their business.  If you are deliberately going there, then you are deliberately getting into someone else's stuff that has nothing to do with you.  How many times have you strolled over to 'Joe Smith's' page to find a post that you find horribly offensive?  Did your heart rate go up?  Did you feel the need to put in your two cents?  If yes, you are involved.  Just sayin'

Anyway.  I've decided on a 30 day facebook fast.  I know there will be lots of things I will miss, but that there will be so much more to gain from the experience.  Maybe the gains will outweigh the stuff I miss and I'll stay away for good, or maybe I'll see that it really did in some mysterious way enhance my life and I'll return.

Or maybe I'll chronicle my experience and write a book about it.

Hmmmm, now there's an idea!