It was just another normal day. I walked outside to our office's mailbox to see if the mail had come. I unlocked the box, reached my hand in, and felt around for the stack of envelopes. As I juggled the mail in my right arm and lifted my left hand to get a better grip, I heard a terrible noise and froze. My iPhone was no longer gripped in my hand, but was, in fact, face down on the pavement.
Wincing as I kneeled to determine its fate, I flipped it over and saw the shattered screen. Not just shattered, but hanging from the body of the phone. Naturally, I found some Scotch tape and adhered the sheet of glass back to the phone. As I observed my pathetic, comical, broken iPhone there were many thoughts that raced through my brain. Here are 5 things that happened when I broke my iPhone...
1. I was a little upset.
Obviously I didn't plan to take a walk on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon and break my phone. I was upset, frustrated, a tad bit sad. However, my biggest concern was, "How am I going to pay for this?". If you have every broken your phone, you know it can be speedy to replace, so being the penny-pincher that I am, I was not thrilled.
2. I counted my blessings.
As I went through the rest of the day, I had the opportunity to count my blessings. In our culture, shattering your iPhone is something that quantifies as a bad day, but once I started to think about the other things in my life that were great, I realized this wasn't a big deal. This was very trivial in the grand scheme of life. There are people who do not have homes, food, safety, or love. A broken piece of technology is such a first world problem. My mantra the rest of the day was, if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, my life is pretty fantastic.
3. My battery life improved.
For real, I sat down to right this and realized I have 75% battery left and it is 9pm. WHAT. Literally, on a normal day I charge my phone overnight, then once or twice during the day, and when I go to sleep I'm in the red zone. When you have a phone covered in Scotch tape and broken glass, there's less of an allure to constantly check Instagram or read through Twitter. This week, I have felt myself being more attentive in my job, doing my homework, and being intentional with my time. I've had to slide my finger over a broken sheet of glass when a new text or Snapchat came in, so if I've communicated with you via phone over the last few days consider yourself very loved.
4. I felt less anxious.
I've been living with anxiety for quite some time now. Additionally, I've had social media at my finger tips for quite some time now. Coincidence? Maybe not. The past few days of not using my phone has taken such a weight off of my shoulders. I've hardly been on social media at all and haven't really missed it (especially in this election season). My screen is so messed up that I haven't really seen when my phone lights up and a notification appears. It hasn't been enjoyable to scroll through Facebook when I have to turn my phone different angles to read through cracks. I haven't felt the urge to stay caught up with the internet world or to get rid of every red notification in my apps. I've used my phone when I needed to communicate and that's about it. And I feel very free.
5. I made a decision to change.
As I sit here admitting the stress and anxiety that I willfully bestow upon myself, I can't help but admit that it's time for a change. Around this time last year I deleted the social media apps from my phone and felt a similar weight lifted that I'm experiencing now. Upon repairing my phone (because I probably shouldn't put broken glass up next to my face?) I will be turning over a new leaf in hopes of a simpler life -- free of meaningless apps, impersonal distractions, and dinging notifications. What began as a real bummer is proving to be a blessing in disguise.
