Tuning Out : What are you avoiding?

Lately I have been thinking about Tuning Out. I know I do it! Sometimes, all I want to do is put on the TV and ignore everything else while I waste the day watching movies on cable. My parents used to do it; they would come home from work and make a cocktail or have some wine, which usually lead to a few more drinks, and watching TV. Maybe you smoke a few joints every day, or go out and meet your friends for drinks, or play video games, or surf the net. All of these things can quickly become your main point of focus and work as a wonderful avoidance tactics. Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are good fun here and there, but when they become an avoidance tactic, or a way to separate yourself from your life, that is when you might want to take a step back and ask yourself “what am I trying to avoid?”

In my experience, when I am tuning out, I am trying to avoid dealing with something in my life that does not feel good. This thing can be real or imagined, but in my mind, thinking about it and the ideas of dealing with it makes me uncomfortable, so I avoid it all together!

In the past, I tuned out a lot because of my job! I was constantly frustrated and stressed out because of it, felt like there was nothing I could do to change it, and leaving was out of the question because I made so much money. So I went out with my friends and had drinks after work and filled my time up with parties and lots of social activities. When I was home I made sure there was lots of stimulation around me at all time. I had the TV on, while I used the computer and talked on the phone. My biggest fear was that I would not fall asleep right when I went to bed and I would be laying in the dark and the silence with all kinds of stuff swirling around in my head. The last thing I wanted to think about was how miserable I was at work! So I avoided thinking about it.

What I was really doing was separating myself from my life and my reality. No matter how busy and distracted I kept myself, at the end of the day there was a big chunk of my life that felt horrible to me.
To be honest, at that point in time I thought that that was just the way it was and I had to deal with it in order to be prosperous. I did not see any other options. Now I know that there are options! I also recognize that life is so much better when you are fully present to experience it.

Do you find yourself tuning out? Are you ready to deal with what you are avoiding? Give me a call to see how I might help you Tune into all the options available to you.