It has been over ten years now. It was a difficult decision at first and all I wanted to do was get more as soon as I stopped. I found myself talking about it incessantly with other addicts at work and thinking about it during other times throughout the day. My mother would call me to talk about it, and her friends would call her to talk about their fix. Dammit, sometimes even grandma participated. To satisfy my addiction further, I bought a contraption to store more when I was not home. That was the final straw.
Often when reaching a low point, we are gifted the realization that things can only get better if we make a change. While it was a low point for me a decade ago, I am proud to say that I have been clean ever since with no looking back or even the slightest inclination of slipping. In fact, I do not even miss it – cancelling my cable was one of the best decisions I have made on the road to recovering my free time, mental and physical health, and life. The time I would spend watching television is now spent learning Italian, going for walks, sitting in nature and forest bathing, playing in athletic leagues, lifting heavy things at the gym and sprinting, playing with my dog, caring for my garden, visiting my family, reading, writing, learning more about my hobbies, and cooking real food. At the time it was difficult to transition from watching other people do things, and instead start doing them myself, but nowadays, it is tough to imagine how I would ever get anything done if I still had that time sink in my house. The time I have now is instead filled with fulfilling activities that constantly reward me.
Pick Your Motivation – Cancel Your Cable
I may have had a little extra incentive when I got rid of the cable, considering I cancelled my cable at the start of my radiation oncology residency as I figured I was going to have little time – or money – for much else in my life during those five years, especially distractions. With the attention span of a five-year-old after two cans of Coke and a packet of Pop Rocks, that flirtatious seductress known as cable television would always lure me in, instigating a wicked pattern of infidelity as I would promise myself more free time, only to deviate once again, diving back into bed with cable. It added insult to injury and another reason why cable might need to be eliminated during this important period of my life.
I figured I needed every advantage possible to have enough time to finish my work in the clinic while still being able to learn the abundance of information necessary to be a practicing radiation oncologist. The common misconception that we need more time to accomplish tasks overshadowed the real benefit of cancelling my cable. Sure, I had more time for work, but the additional time available for my actual life was the real benefit. I no longer was the one making excuses for not cooking, talking daily walks, or sleeping for eight hours a night (sound familiar?). Excuses are not necessary when you have several free hours per day.
But, I don’t have time to…
I hear this daily from friends, family members, patients, you name it. It is like fingernails scratching across a chalkboard. When was the last time you said this? Being a full-time physician removes most free time from my day. This leaves me only time to write during the nights and weekends. It is by no coincidence that these are also the same times when most people watch their time stolen from them by their television. Watching television at night or on the weekends leaves little time for other activities. Do you want to take up a new hobby, learn a new language, or finally get that wine certification that you always talked about? How about finish that book – you know that book you’ve been talking about…and thinking about during every commercial break?
Much like processed foods, sugary snacks, texts on your phone, and illicit drugs, most television shows are made to ignite your inner addiction flame. We all have them and keeping a television in your home with cable is like an alcoholic living at a bar – we are flirting with disaster and asking for our free time to be cannibalized by the cable monster.
He runs on simple carbohydrates and your free time, leaving both you and him bloated and unhealthy.
How did I do it, you ask? Simple – in an attempt to follow an Intentional Lifestyle and assess all those counterproductive and addictive parts that piece together each day of my life, I took a step towards recovery and cancelled my cable. Whether it was 30 minutes here or an hour there, my free time seemed to keep piling up throughout the week. With no television to stare at, I found myself replacing that time with activities outside, playing sports, going for walks, forest bathing, or meeting with colleagues, or chewing the fat with family members. In the end, all of these are more rewarding and more stimulating than plopping down on the couch, turning into a sedentary sloth, and wasting away in front of the big screen. It is amazing how much time becomes available when there is not a television to switch on at any instant. Granted, I do watch some TV after cancelling my cable, though mostly online and in order to catch my favorite show every once in a while, often while I am cooking.
While cable television is extremely effective at decreasing your activity levels,1 it is also works quite well at increasing the amount of fat on your body2 and when watching at night, is very effective at disrupting your sleep habits and producing less effective rest time.3 Amazingly, the issues with watching television do not stop there as it is apparently associated with an increased risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and cancer.4 Turning from this and instead towards more activity, better sleep, and more doing instead of watching others do things intrinsically makes sense. As a result, we can expect less heart disease, stroke and cancer, and in the meantime become significantly more productive and mentally sharp as we age.5–8
Stop watching other people do things and do it yourself. (And by all means make better life decisions than the Kardashians and Housewives.)
Put your television on the back burner and return your life to the forefront. All it takes is ten seconds to cancel your cable and change your life forever. Start doing and stop watching. Follow an Intentional Lifestyle.
Note: This article was certainly NOT sponsored by your local cable company.
References:
- DuRant, R. H., Baranowski, T., Johnson, M. & Thompson, W. O. The relationship among television watching, physical activity, and body composition of young children. Pediatrics 94, 449–55 (1994).
- Giammattei, J., Blix, G., Marshak, H. H., Wollitzer, A. O. & Pettitt, D. J. Television watching and soft drink consumption: associations with obesity in 11- to 13-year-old schoolchildren. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 157, 882–6 (2003).
- Cespedes, E. M. et al. Television Viewing, Bedroom Television, and Sleep Duration From Infancy to Mid-Childhood. Pediatrics 133, e1163–1171 (2014).
- Dunstan, D. W. et al. Television viewing time and mortality: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Circulation 121, 384–91 (2010).
- Elward, K. & Larson, E. B. Benefits of exercise for older adults. A review of existing evidence and current recommendations for the general population. Clin. Geriatr. Med. 8, 35–50 (1992).
- Layne, J. E. & Nelson, M. E. The effects of progressive resistance training on bone density: a review. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 31, 25–30 (1999).
- Larson, E. B. Health Benefits of Exercise in an Aging Society. Arch. Intern. Med. 147, 353 (1987).
- Martinsen, E. W. Benefits of Exercise for the Treatment of Depression. Sport. Med. 9, 380–389 (1990).
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