Happy Monday Ladies!

This week I wanted to share a podcast I listened to recently that

BLEW MY MIND. 

If you ever fell into the bachelor nation craze, then chances are you probably know who Kaitlyn Bristowe is. She is a former contestant and bachelorette, and she has a podcast called “Off The Vine” where she features all kinds of topics and guests. 

A few weeks ago, she released a podcast with Jenny Wise Black, a licensed marriage and family therapist, to discuss our relationships with our devices. I’m going to link the podcast at the end of this newsletter. (note: I’m linking the apple podcast version, but it is available across most podcast platforms)

Here is the show description:

“Today’s guest has been a licensed marriage and family therapist for over a decade and it was only when her smartphone broke that she found her true life’s work: fixing our relationship with our devices! Jenny Wise Black has seen firsthand the trauma – yes, trauma – that is caused by the constant, everyday use of our devices. So, how have we gotten here, and more importantly, what can we do about it? Kaitlyn describes her personal relationship to her phone and social media, and why she’s deciding to take a break during this very painful time in her life. Your host also opens up about her recent breakup and the fears that come along with it, many of which (if not all) can be traced right back to her phone. Luckily, Jenny has advice that is truly life-changing when it comes to making us whole humans again, including using “inside treats” versus external validation and building our resources from what we need versus what we’re addicted to. We guarantee you’ll come away from this episode with so much more knowledge and maybe, like Kaitlyn, some sadness but also hope for a better future!”

There were some big aha moments for me:

The first being, could I really get rid of my smart phone and use a flip phone instead?

How ingrained have I become with have constant access to the outside world?

Am I too available?

How healthy is my relationship with my phone?

The next thing that hit me like a ton of rocks is when Jenny talks about today’s youth and their attachment issues. She uses the example of feeding your newborn. How important it is to bond with your baby through eye contact, and that so many of us use that time to scroll on our phone, completely ignoring our child and robbing them of early attachment. She gives some statistics about kids growing up with their parents totally checked out because of their attachment to their phones. I’m emotional just thinking about how often I have been guilty of this.

Jenny also says that our relationship with our device is the most important relationship in our life. I immediately wanted to disagree and the more I thought about it the more I had no argument. It’s so true, our relationship with our device directly effects how available we are for any other relationship in our life. 

I could honestly go on and on about how many things landed for me in this podcast, but I want to hear from you. Please go listen and let me know what comes up for you.

If you’re not already in the Facebook group, let me know. I will go LIVE this Thursday to open a discussion about this and what everyone’s thoughts are. 

With so much love,

Charli

Listen to the episode here: