Sometimes I Need To Unplug: Is That Wrong?

[title maintitle=”” subtitle=”Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”]

All I wanted was three days to unplug from the world. I knew it was doable, but harder, if I stayed at home. So I packed my bags and went to a remote area in Puerto Rico to really unplug.

I’m not delusional that my desire to unplug from the world is a temporary solution. My problems would still be waiting for me back in San Francisco. My difficult client will continue being disrespectful and have unrealistic expectations. And the social media world will flood me with notifications like a tsunami once I got back on.

Yet, for three days I wanted to say fuck the world and I’m off the grid. And I really did try to unplug. Well at least the second day. The first day I let myself get caught up in updating everyone on social media about my rogue experiences in Puerto Rico.

When I really did make a conscious effort to unplug, friends and family refused to let me detach from my life. In the midst of meditating I got a random text from my new roommate asking about the location of his freaking granola bars (seriously). Another friend kept texting because he was ready to chat after ignoring my previous texts. And then there were all the Valentine’s day wishes.

I realized if I didn’t communicate to the world that I’m unplugging from it, how can I expect people to get the message? So I politely told my new roommate, unless the house is burning please do not call me. I doubt that was well received, but sometimes you have to put you first.

My next move was to turn off all Facebook notifications. That included removing notifications from the 60+ groups I follow, my personal page and the Rogue Style Maven Facebook page. Then I turned off Instagram notifications. I knew this would be the hardest for me, but I need to learn that the instant gratification I get from seeing likes on Instagram makes it difficult for me to truly unplug.

The last thing on my list was to write a post on Facebook telling my family and friends that I’m off the grid. I won’t lie, all of me wanted to check their reactions, but that defeats the purpose of my post.

I then set off for an amazing second day of exploration in Puerto Rico, but I couldn’t even make it more than two blocks before I started getting Facebook notifications. Umm really Facebook and Instagram, WTH? In my world if you click all the buttons to say I don’t want to hear from anyone, that means stop sending me notices and killing my vibe! As the day continued, friends and family who I know are constantly on Facebook disregarded my request and hit me up via text and WhatsApp. It was like the more I tried to unplug, the more people tried to contact me.

The more I tried to unplug, the more people tried to contact me.

Learning how to demand what I need in life to survive is new to me. I knew I was most likely pissing some people off and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry at myself for feeling guilty that people were annoyed that I wanted to unplug from the world.

I dug a little deeper to understand why I felt like a horrible person for wanting to unplug from the world. That’s when I realized I worry about what people will say about me. I worry that people will think I’m not a good friend, daughter, cousin or employee for not being there 24/7.

But why am I worried? I can’t be the only one who sometimes needs a day off from life, so why did people not get it? Plus my request was not unreasonable. All I wanted was three days to push the pause button on life and sit in the sun, bask in my thoughts, drink enormous amounts of rum ~~and flirt with some cute guy~~ (scratch that last part as I really wanted to be by myself).

Unfortunately, I never did get to fully unplug. The moments that I did get close to unplugging made me realize I really do need to be alone at times.

I am not apologetic for needing space. I may still feel guilty like a new parent does when they leave their newborn to cry for the first. Yet, like a newborn, people will learn to adjust their expectations or walk away. Either way, I am always going to find way to take care of me.