Here Is Your Permission To Disconnect

The world is not entitled to constant access to you – it’s ok to disconnect.

It’s ok to step away from the phone and give yourself a digital cleanse. You don’t have to post that picture or write that status. You don’t have to engage in the comments section. (I mean, I hope you never engage in the comments section – but that’s a story for another day.) You don’t have to watch the videos, the stories, or IG TV. You don’t have to read what’s happening on twitter 24/7.

You can step away.

It’s ok to step away.

It’s ok to disconnect.

You don’t have to answer emails until 2 am. It’s ok to step away and go to bed earlier. The emails will be there tomorrow morning, they will not self destruct in the middle of the night as you’re catching some much-needed rest.

I promise.

The world is not entitled to constant access to you – it’s ok to disconnect.

When you’re home with your loved ones, it’s ok to put the phone down. It’s ok to not answer the text messages from your friends, and be still with your family. It’s not about ignoring your friends – that’s not the point of it at all. It’s about being present with the faces that are looking back at you, at that moment.

It’s ok to be there, in that moment, with them. The rest of the world can wait.

It’s ok to leave the stress of the workday at your front door, and lose yourself in the comfort of your couch, and watch a movie or your favorite television show. The beauty of art and storytelling is that it can take us out of our own world, if only for an hour or two. And that’s ok. Give yourself permission to get lost for a bit.

The world isn’t entitled to constant access to you – it’s ok to have boundaries on your time and attention. It doesn’t make you a bad human. It doesn’t mean you’re removed or out of touch. It doesn’t mean you don’t care.

It just means that sometimes, you need to give your brain a rest.

You can step away, and you can just as easily step back.

It’s ok to disconnect.