Go somewhere tranquil. Quiet. A place that you like to be during your everyday routine. For me, it is a lovely street cafe here in Sanlitun, Beijing, China.

Put your phone in your pocket and leave it there. Please do not touch it for thirty minutes. Pretty Please!

Just watch the world go by you. Don’t try and force anything, just try and do that one thing. Watch the world go by for thirty minutes without that phone. It will take a lot of your energy, but you can do it. Initially, for the first five minutes, it will burn into your mind that something is missing. Your hands will fidget, and you will need to hold onto something. Your mind will race, and you will feel your every heartbeat pulse blood through your veins. Your neck muscle will twitch as the blood squeezes through your main artery on its way to flood your brain with worry. 

This is the moment you are going cold turkey—total withdrawal without a safety net. You might have a cold sweat at this point or even a shake or two. Time is a factor now.

Stick with it. It will get easier. Within ten minutes, the peacefulness will focus your mind on what is around you. Keep going after this and resist. Just focus on the one thing…

Just. That. ONE THING.

Focus on NOT touching your phone. Just this one thing is what needs your focus.

Try and forget that it is there, close by, and put it out of your mind. 

Forget about it. 

Ignore it. 

Do not listen to it.

Ignore it even when it calls your name through the receiving ping of a new text message.

Time stands still at this point, but you have five minutes left.

Will you beat your addiction, or will it grab you back into its bosom?

It is so welcoming, but try to keep ignoring it.

Take a deep breath.

Let it go.

Count down.

10, 9, 8…

3,2,1…

Ok, you can reach for your phone now.

How do you feel?

Did you do the thirty seconds for real?

If you did and you lasted the time without reaching for the phone, then well done to you.

For the others that went through the withdrawal, it is no fun, is it?

Now multiply that feeling by thousands, and that might give you some understanding of the struggle with trying to beat any addiction.

Have some empathy.

“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.”

Carl Gustav Jung

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