There are many technology metaphors that people have played with that, when remembered, cause them to smile and to change how they are responding to a particular person or situation. Today, I will focus on simpler ones and devote another blog to the big ones like corrupted files and viruses!
Press the Pause Button
This can be as simple as pausing to take one or a few breaths, a short body scan, a checking of the energy of your own system.
When my daughter was a teen-ager, she often would let loose with some pretty strong words. When I remembered to bring mindfulness to my anger, I would take two breaths before responding. Occasionally, that would irritate her and she would say “there goes dad breathing again.” At the same time, she let me breathe, because she knew that what came out of my mouth after two breaths would be better for both of us.
Change the Channel
Have you ever found yourself turning on the TV because you are beat and need some down time and then realize you are watching a mindless TV show?
Some times we get on a channel and can’t move on. For example, we ruminate—“I can’t believe that person was so rude,” “why did she say that to me,”… At times like this it can be helpful to simply “change the channel.”
A variation of this, for those of us who grew up with records is to realize that the record is skipping and we didn’t even notice it. We simply lift and move the needle.
The flip side of this metaphor is realizing that in our busyness and the many ways to be distracted, we may feel like we are holding a remote control at life and frequently changing the channels. In this case, it can be helpful to pick one channel or to turn the TV off and make a more productive choice.
You’ve Got Mail
But you don’t have to read it every time you hear the beep or see the image! Much has been written about how addicted so many of us are to technology—cell phones, texts, email, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Reboot or Restart
The computer is frozen or just not working well. So reboot/restart; often that’s all that is needed.
Years ago I was teaching a high school algebra class and introducing the concept of polynomials. Twice I screwed up the definition, and finally said, ‘crumple up your papers and toss them in the garbage can; we’re going to start all over.’ The students enthusiastically tossed their papers into the garbage can, and one student said, “If you really want to start over, leave the room and come back in.” I laughed and did that, and the lesson went well from there.
Circuit breaker
This is a non-computer metaphor, but I included it because the function of a circuit breaker is to stop before the whole system collapses. Without a circuit breaker, the computer fries, the television set fries.
When applying this metaphor, I take a long pause and restart. I also make some time in the near future to reassess my life, for example, how I can let go of something.
Unplug
I know several people who do this occasionally. For example, they just get off Facebook for a week, a month or longer.
When I was a college professor, I left my email on all day and that habit continued when I retired. While I do have many projects, I really don’t need to be checking my email so often. I decided to do a simple audit and found that I generally checked my email more than 10 times a day. When I brought mindfulness to this, I realized that this was having an effect on my speediness, so I am moving toward three times a day: morning, noonish, late afternoon, and I am feeling the difference.
Playfulness
I want to emphasize that while employing any of these metaphors can have a significant impact on how we move through our lives, they can also be applied playfully and with humor and lightness.
Enjoy them! Feel free to share stories of using these metaphors and any new ones you find.