What I learned from donating my PlayStation 4
Two months before our second daughter was born, I decided to donate my PS4 to a local Goodwill. You may be thinking why is this significant? Were you REALLY playing that many hours to the point it couldn’t be around anymore?! To answer your last question…the answer is no.
It actually did not take up a lot of my time and I usually played when my wife and kids went to bed. There were some exceptions like a few minutes on a lunch break every now and then, but to be quite frank my relationship with this console was pretty healthy. I showed up for my family and got my work done. So why did I choose to donate this again? Plain and simple…this device was a fallback when I felt like I had “nothing to do.”
This started to feel like a pattern when I would consider being “done for the day.” As I was playing, it started to feel like I was wasting time. I also questioned if I was being a little hard on myself, cause again I was getting work done in a timely manner, I was present for my family and I was still growing and learning as a fitness coach. Then I asked myself if you didn’t have this fallback, what would your free time look like? If you got rid of this device, would it impact you THAT much?
One day I looked at my wife and told her I’m doing it, unplugged my PS4 that I bought from a pawn shop in 2018 for $175 and drove 15 minutes to the local Goodwill and dropped it at their donation door. A part of me was a little bummed I’ll be honest, but over those next few days I felt a shift in how I viewed my time. As productive as I was before, I felt myself seeking more opportunities to better not only myself but the lives of those around me.
This new reserve of time I am now able to use for planning interactions with my kids to engage and further their development. I have been able to be more intentional with my wife, thinking of ways I can make her life easier and get menotonice tasks done so we can spend more quality time together during the day. These 30 minutes to an hour that I gave back to myself made ALL the difference in my perspective and how I choose to go about my life. Below are just a few differences I noticed:
- Consistent bedtime without temptation of playing
- Early wake up time to get tasks done for myself
- Increased reading on subject matters I want to know more about
- Having intentional 1:1 time with my wife (playing games, listening to music and connecting)
- Improved recovery from training (bath, cold plunge, non-stim relaxation)
- Productive time for passion projects (this website, engaging with current and former clients)
- Increased motivation to keep going (never felt like time was wasted)
Professionally, I utilize this time to read more about training and coaching or use it to program for my clients and teams I coach. I have also started diving back into social media and how to use it as a tool to drive awareness of my services and abilities. I feel more fulfilled and accomplished now then I ever have in my life; my days are busier that is for sure, but the amount of gratitude I have for this now, time with family, time for professional development, and don’t get me wrong some time to unplug and watch a little TV, has made me feel like I have optimized myself. I have given myself time back and there is nothing more empowering than creating something for yourself, especially something as impactful as more time.
I hope you take something away from this post and see that even a small shift such as this can create a massive shift in your life. As silly of an article as you may view this, there is a greater message to be received then just get rid of your gaming consoles. I’m sure at some point I will own another, but in the meantime I have built up some great momentum that when that time comes I’ll be in a better place to use it as a tool of relaxation.
Keep moving the needle and keep finding ways to build the best version of you.