When I was getting my haircut, I noticed a mother having her hair colored with a son who looked to be 10 years old sitting in the empty chair next to her.

All during the procedure, she had her iPhone glued to her face and said not a word to her boy.  Remarkably, he kept himself busy without the help of a digital device, which is more than his mom could say.

This is a tough world where the allure of a smartphone is an addiction and where the lack of face-to-face interaction with other people including family is fast becoming a dysfunction.  

Let me stop there. 

We all do it. 

I confess as well.

But there is something we can do to retrain the way we use our digital devices and interact with others.

It is being present when we are present.

Lean forward and give 100% of your attention to another person.   No distractions.  No phones.  No daydreaming or fretting about that which tends to stress us out.

Even 5 minutes of this focused attention is powerful and once we get used to eliminating the things that distract us from human interaction, 5 minutes can grow to 10 and beyond.

No one wants to give up their digital devices.

Being actually present when we are present with others – 100% all-in to conversations – is how we take control of our digital world while reclaiming what’s important in life.

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