In a world inundated with constant distractions, do you ever think about what you think about?

There’s a story I’d like to share about a father, his son, and the pursuit of physics.

The father, a dedicated scientist, always hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. He gently nudged him towards studying physics, envisioning a future where they shared the same professional zeal. 

One evening, as the son grappled with a challenging physics problem, he approached his father for guidance. The problem seemed familiar to both, indicating they had tackled it together just a few weeks prior.

Curious why his son was still working through this problem, the father asked, “When you walk down the street, when you’re in the shower, when you don’t have to be thinking about anything else, isn’t this what you think about?”

To the father’s surprise, the son responded, “No, Dad. When my mind drifts, I’m not pondering physics.”

Knowing the depth of love he held for his son and his own aspirations for him, the father chose his words with great tenderness and care. 

He said, “You’d better get out of physics. You ought to find something that you love so much that when you don’t have to think about anything, that’s what you think about.”

I’m not a ‘chase your passions’ kind of guy. I’m not here to sell you some snake oil on chasing your dreams.

Don’t worry; I haven’t been thinking about physics the last few months and have zero aspirations to pursue a career in science.

As I’m now 67 days into this journey without a cell phone, the depth of reflection has been the most significant difference I’ve noticed.

In these moments of deep reflection with its silence and stillness, I often ask myself, “What do I think about when I don’t have anything to think about?”

Lately, I’ve been thinking about… 

• my legacy – what do I want to leave behind
• living a life of significance – how can I impact others
• not chasing something only because someone else is chasing it

Would I think about these things if I still had my cell phone? I don’t know.

Maybe not having a cell phone has created a space to wrestle with some questions I’ve been avoiding. Avoiding these questions faster than I brush past a panhandler shaking a plastic cup for a couple bucks. 

The questions are uncomfortable because they force introspection, and maybe the answers necessitate change.

And I’ve been unpacking these questions for the book…

• What actions do I put off, thinking there’s always a tomorrow?
• How do I ensure that my ‘today’ aligns with my desired vision?
• Do I want to be successful or significant? Are they mutually exclusive?
• What is success to me?
• What regrets, if any, do I have? Why haven’t I addressed them?
• Am I more concerned with being right or understanding the truth?
• How do I measure my self-worth? How much of it is based on external validation?
• Why do people wait for a terminal diagnosis before they start living?

Let me be clear about this. I have ZERO expectations that anyone will give up their cell phone for a year, a month, or a week. 

My challenge to you is this…spend some dedicated time thinking about what you think about. No one else will do it for you.

As I’ve been mulling over these questions, a quote from Tim Tebow resonates with me…

“And I think the greatest tragedy of life is we’re going to look back one day and say, I was successful in things that don’t matter. There’s nothing wrong with being successful, but success is just about you, but significance is about other people.”