Contrary to popular opinion, limits are our friends, and they are liberating. For example, Linda and I make it a practice to charge up, power down, and put away our phones as part of our evening ritual. We even bought a leather caddy, designed to hold remote controls, as the designated spot for storing our phones, earbuds, and reading glasses on a bedroom nightstand (pictured above).
Whether due to the fear of missing out or whatever, it is unhealthy to allow devices to intrude upon our lives with their noises and notifications around the clock. Such a simple self-imposed limitation as our phone policy has had a profound effect on our ability to maintain a sense of sanctuary in our home. And we also do not allow phones, ours or others, at our dining table, barring an emergency of some type.
Writer Sue Bender, author of Plain and Simple, identified a couple of relevant principles gleaned from her experiences living with the Amish. One she called “limits as freedom,” which she describes here: “When expectation and achievement match, a person is content…Having limits, subtracting distractions, making a commitment to do what you do well, brings a new kind of intensity.”
The second principle Bender identified is “choice.” As she states, “There is a big difference between having many choices and making a choice. Making a choice—declaring what is essential—creates a framework for a life that eliminates many choices but gives meaning to the things that remain. Satisfaction comes from giving up wishing I was somewhere else or doing something else.”
In other words, the liberty of limits enables us to live intentionally from a perspective of what is essential to us. Once we identify what really matters in our lives, the natural outgrowth of that choice leads us to design a lifestyle conducive to finding fulfillment and meaning. So, allow me to strongly suggest you declare what is essential and subtract the distractions in your own life today!