Maybe TV IS Good For You
I’m not sure about you but “watching tv is bad” is definitely a belief I grew up with.
Did it mean that I didn’t watch TV? No, it just meant I harbored a little guilt if I watched it too much or too often.
Television is a great distraction and when used strategically, it can really help you.
Many times, we get caught up in trying to “fix” or “solve” our problems or challenges. Maybe we are unsure of which direction to take or how we should respond to this person or that situation.
My whole life I felt pretty good about being a problem solver until I realized I was just really good at pushing my way through a situation and “making the outcome I wanted happen”. It took me a few health challenges to finally realize that wasn’t a way that was really serving me well.
What do you do when you are faced with a problem or decision that you have to make, and you don’t know what to do?
Is your approach logical, emotional, communal, spiritual, etc.?
Maybe, you make a list of pros and cons.
Maybe, you talk to everyone around you about it even when they don’t have the experience or their own good results with that issue.
Maybe, you go with your gut. And food for thought, how do you know if it’s your intuition or fear speaking to you?
Maybe, you sit and meditate, pray, or journal.
I am not here to say that those ideas above are not good and helpful, but have you ever considered TV as a strategy?
I’m laughing as I type that out because it sounds so counterintuitive but give me a moment to explain.
When we are frustrated, angry, confused, or feeling anything other than joy, peace, and contentment, our minds are usually trying to figure out how we can get out of those painful feelings.
It’s great when we can allow ourselves the opportunity to notice our feelings and be with them to see why they are coming up right now for us but usually, we go into how to rid them or fix the situation.
When we keep thinking about the situation, it usually makes us feel worse. We can go into thinking of worst-case scenarios or start selling ourselves short from what we can really experience because we go into minimalizing or rationalizing.
There are occasions when a pro and con list will easily do the trick but there are also times when we just need to step away.
We can retreat into nature, music, maybe a great book.
AND, we can also get lost in to a great movie or TV show that makes us laugh, feel good, smile, and we put our “issue” on hold in our mind for that period of time.
I have had some of my best ideas come out of watching something funny or entertaining on TV.
Of course, we want to be mindful about what we are CHOOSING to watch so that it changes our feelings instead of picking something that has more fear, worry, anger, or sadness in it (that DOESN’T HELP).
Using TV as a distraction can be a great way to give the “monkey mind” a rest just enough to allow some brilliance to come flowing right to you!
Recently, I heard some women talking about how they have made some really amazing changes in their life just by watching the show on Netflix, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, which I haven’t seen yet but will definitely be checking out!
Now, is TV the BEST or only strategy to achieve some clarity or answers, maybe not but maybe it is the strategy you need at that moment to keep things moving ;)
