So many people today are engrossed in their digital devices. Everyone has their own particular brand of poison, but there’s always something in common. Too much time is spent looking down at a phone or tablet and not enough time is spent reflecting or meditating. It’s time for a brain break.

It’s Time For A Brain Break

Neuroscience has shown that something happens when we become too dependent on technology, especially when we obsess over things like social media. A recent article examined the ‘lessons learned’ concerning social media use. The authors found that smartphone addictions may be part of the social networking addiction. An average American user could be expected to spend over an hour and a half per day on social media sites. For some countries, the average approached nearly 4 hours, every day (Kuss, 2017).

Nomophobia, or the fear of being without your device (like a cell phone), is now a thing. It’s like we are afraid to miss something—anything! But what if, just imagine for a second, what if you could choose to slow down, and take a minute, and breathe?

Find The Real Priorities In Your Life

Does this mean you should forever cancel your accounts and toss your smartphone in the garbage? Well, maybe. But that isn’t practical for most of us. You can learn to set your phone aside and instead spend some time meditating and working on improving YOU. Ask yourself, do you want to be at your peak performance or do you want to be sliding by with your face in your phone?

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively. 

Sharon Salzberg

Meditation, unlike social media, is nothing new. Practitioners stretch back far into the lost realms of time, but we can still learn so much. Your personal journey with meditation, should you choose to step onto that path, will likely always continue to bend and curve and lead you on.

The Leadership Of The Future Requires More Than Clever Midnight Tweets

The world is lacking qualified, competent, compassionate leadership. It isn’t just the regular people who are obsessed with technology. Looking at the current political climate makes it clear that we could all benefit from a break from digital devices. Let the movement start with you.

Unsure where to start? Set small goals. Research meditation techniques. Maybe pick up a book, or consider speaking to someone you know with experience. Sign up for a class, and step outside of your normal, comfortable, electronic zone. Instead of reaching for your phone, turn your thoughts inward and let your mind be still. Let your soul relax and stop worrying about who had a cocktail at lunch or who got a new skirt at the mall.

Be The Leader That The World Needs

At the About my Brain Institute, we believe that developing a leader’s brain and body integration is crucial to ensuring that other leadership development behaviors can be changed. Meditation will allow your brain the downtime it needs to perform optimally. Integration is a key pillar of Performance in the i4 Neuroleader Model, and meditation can nudge you onto the path of not just increased self-awareness, but to a level of leadership you never even knew existed.

Citation
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten Lessons Learned International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3), 311. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14030311

Originally posted on: 31 October 2017
Last updated on: 24 March 2024
Silvia Damiano

Silvia Damiano

Founder & CEO
About my Brain Institute

Scientist, educator, author, speaker, coach, award-winning leadership specialist, filmmaker and creator of the i4 Neuroleader Model & Methodology.

Silvia's scientific background and curiosity about the human brain led her to a decade long journey of research into optimal brain functioning and the application of neuroscience in leadership and daily life. Her past and current roles have uniquely prepared her for the current undertaking, that of leadership activist & change agent.

Silvia Damiano founded The About my Brain Institute in 2009, with the purpose of democratising leadership & neuroscience. She has a passionately held belief, that leaders in our 21st century global economy and their organisations must radically change long-held ideas of what constitutes effective leadership

In her ground-breaking books ‘Leadership is Upside Down’, ‘Brain-Friendly Leadership’ and the 2018 documentary ‘Make Me A Leader’, Silvia provides both compelling evidence and explores the importance of leadership in our personal and professional lives and what it takes to develop the human behind the leader.

Silvia has worked in different countries, across many industries, helping teams and organisations improve business performance. Silvia’s clients have described her as a passionate, dynamic, a highly experienced speaker and master facilitator on the topics of Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Change, Neuroleadership & Engagement.

Silvia is passionate about leaving a legacy of well-rounded leaders who can act and decide in a way that better serves humanity. Her clients include Microsoft, Australian Stock Exchange, NSW Government, VISA, Fuji Xerox and Manpower amongst many other global companies.

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