Addiction to the screen / secret to happiness

Something I don’t get is how addicted some people are to screens.  They always have to have a screen in front of them, whether it is a TV screen, PC screen or cell-phone screen.

I hear of people who watch every single TV series they can get their hands on, and they get so excited for the next season.  All their free time is spent watching TV series.  To quote a motivational speaker “We can’t expect them to save this world when they are caught up in another one!” – “Disconnect them from their devices and they die!”

Going back to TV series, I won’t mention the names of the series, but some of the stuff coming out into the world today is pretty dark and depressing.  I watched a season or two of a medical drama a little while back and half way through the second season I decided to stop watching because I felt like screaming at the lead character “Get over your cry-baby feel sorry for myself nonsense and live!”

How can I feel happy, alive and positive when I am surrounded by negativity?  One of the best things I ever did in my life was to cut out TV Series, not completely because their are still some classic shows that have been off the air for years that I love to watch, but enough not to get absorbed into anything new.

I’ve done the same for computer games.  I am extremely selective about which games I play.  Basically, the games I play the most are “The Sims 3” and “Plants vs. Zombies”.  Any new games presented to me must have a humorous side for me to consider them, if it doesn’t make me laugh, what’s the point?  It will most likely bring me down.

So what is my secret to happiness?

1. Faith in God – no matter what, I know that God protects me and looks after me.  I have enough evidence of that, just look at all the blessings in my life.
2. Gratefulness – being grateful for what I have and not desiring more than I have.  I have often wished for “things”, but once you have everything you need to be comfortable, why do you need more?  Greed, envy and “keeping up with the Jones’”  Those who are grateful for the little they have are usually the happiest people.
3. Limit screen time – get away from that screen and do something with your hands, with people or out in God’s creation!  I work on a computer screen all day.  The moment I get home I don’t want to be in front of the computer screen anymore.  I turn my PC on so I can play music while I cook, write my blog posts and use internet to keep in touch with people.  I barely use it during the week though.
4. Surround yourself with positivity – every time you catch yourself saying something negative to yourself, turn the phrase into a positive – practice this!  Try not to say negative things to other people.  Try not to do things that will harm other people or the earth we live on. And filter what you watch, read and listen to, don’t dwell on negativity.  I’m listening to a Celtic radio station that plays lots of Irish fiddle music – the sort of stuff that makes me want to dance.  It is doing wonders for my positivity.  Also worth remembering, nobody likes a negative Nancy, it’s okay to have down days, but when the last 10 Facebook status updates are negative you start loosing friends.
5. Eat Right – Fruits & vegetables! Get your vitamins!  It’s amazing how much food has an effect on positivity.
6. Get Fit – Many people won’t like this one, but something I’ve discovered is that sporty people are usually happier people.  A 10 minute walk out in the fresh air and nature often does more for a person’s happiness than anything else.
7. Help others – random acts of kindness to other people do so much for your own happiness.  When you start blessing others, then you get blessed in return.  So give the car guard a R20 note instead of your loose change occasionally (it doesn’t have to be all the time).  Or buy him lunch while you do your grocery shopping, and feel the goodness in your heart.

Now you have my secret to happiness, as well as a little rant on screens.