Like many others the New Years comes with making resolutions. However, sticking to those resolutions after the first week we make them, is often met with resistance and then deciding to completely give up on keeping those lofty New Years we made. I do it to, every year, but this year as my church is doing their 21 day fast starting the second week in January, I made a decision to stop watching tv for the next 21 days.
I wanted to share with you a challenge as well for stopping what you may have developed into a bad habit for the next 21 days, this could be food, alcohol, tv, or whatever has become more important than God in your life. For me, tv watching consumed more of my time and energy than anything else.
To fast or cut-out something in your life you feel you cannot do without for a period of time can be meet with much resistance. That's why you need to know why you want to cut something out in your life for a period of time, in other words, what would be the benefits.
Why I decided to stop watching tv for 21 days.
I had to get the real reasons I watched so much tv. I hadn't always watched tv and movies as much, but over the last decade I have unknowingly increased how much I watched tv as a way to avoid the pain and stress in my life, and as a way to relax. I used tv oftentimes to escape reality, the reality I did not want.
I was scared at first when I thought about not watching tv. Thoughts came to me like, "What will I do, and how will I relax?" I soon begin to face the truth about my tv addiction, yes, I can say I have a tv addiction in that fact that I honestly believed that I could not do without it. The truth is this tv addiction has stolen my life in so many ways. I am usually in a rush or hurry when doing something else so that I can make sure I get to watch the tv programs I enjoy. I would spend almost the entire weekend watching tv. I could have instead been building a better relationship with God and my husband, working on home projects, or even developing friendships with others. But, I wanted to avoid life at all cost as life had become stressful in many areas of my lives. I was surviving, but not thriving.
I have decided to cut out tv for the next 21 days as a way to reclaim my life back. I know it is important that I have other activities to fill in for the gobs of hours I spent in front of the tube, and I will share with you in another post what I found that I can do instead of watching tv.
Do you want to take the challenge with me? It does not have to be tv, but whatever consumes the majority of your time and attention. Let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.