Sunday 6:26 PM
Cedar Park, Texas

Dear Friend.

I rode a train this week.

Well it was our small commuter rail line. But it was one of the reasons I bought our home in the suburbs of Austin, because we are only a couple of miles from the park and ride station which gives us access to the train and several bus lines.

The train dropped me off on time but I did not realize I had a 1 mile walk to my lunch at the Hyatt in downtown Austin. But it was a lovely walk.

It was an appreciation lunch for the non profit Seedlings. This was my first year as a mentor in the program.

The lunch was at a hotel. Big room. Round tables of 10 people. My guess there were 20 tables in the room.

I was nervous as I sat at my table.

The table was set with a place setting and there was a salad waiting for me.

I brought an avocado in my bag. I assumed most of the food there I would not want to eat. But the salad was ok and adding an avocado made it better.

So there I am at a table with 9 other people and I took my knife and cut the avocado in half and started to scoop out the lovely green meat.

I was nervous because I assumed when my work was done that I would have 9 people staring at me.

But instead I looked up and everyone was starting at their phones. No one even noticed that I pulled out an avocado.

We were waiting for the program to start.

Every time I am in large groups of people I tend to notice how much people use their phones. Mostly out of habit and/or boredom.

When I speak to people via zoom who reach out to me about reducing their phone use or alcohol use they usually are aware that it is a problem. They do not like the way it is making them feel. They believe their life could be better if things were different.

This is the first step.

But I want to encourage you to take the next step. Which is acceptance.

What the hell does that mean? That means you are ready to try. That starts with telling yourself the truth.

When you use things (alcohol, phones, social media, processed junk food) that are known to be addictive, some by design. You develop a habit. Next comes tolerance, which leads to using it more to get the same result. This leaves you feeling like there is something wrong with you.

I am here to tell you - there is nothing wrong with you.

I recorded a video while I was on my Friday afternoon adventure. It is a reminder that you do not have to hit rock bottom before you change. You can watch it here.​

So often we wait for something REALLY bad to happen, something so bad we are FORCED to change. Do not wait for that day.

Some of you are here because of smartphone over use and might be thinking what could happen that would cause a rock bottom? I have talked to people all over the world and I assure you over using a smartphone causes a loss of time and attention that affects mental health, family like and your work.

I am wrapping up my free guide to how to quit alcohol but a friend of mine recently mentioned that it might be helpful for changing you behavior with other things as well.

Since you are on this list - I will email it to you when I am done. I am excited with how it is coming along.

Terry

If you would like to talk about your situation with me, I am still offering free 1 on 1 calls. This window is closing as I get closer to launching my guide and support. Email me and I will send you a link.

PSS. Here is a short video of me riding the train.