My Walk on El Camino de Santiago: Unplug

Walking the Camino was not easy, but even the hardest parts gave me something to think about in a new way.

I had no service on my phone for most of the walk, which was probably a good thing. However, I stopped to take a photo along the road to send to my boyfriend. I was looking at the phone and the shot I was about to take when, in my distraction, I lost my footing and twisted my ankle.

That was when my mentor, Jennifer took away my phone.

We all know how technology has taken over a large part of our lives. I read that the average smartphone user checks their device 150 times a day. So if we are awake for 15 hours of the day, we check our phones ten times per hour. How can we ever be present in the moment when we are so immersed in that little gadget?

In addition to my embarrassment from falling while taking a photo, I still had a lot of walking to do before I was finished and I had injured my ankle. That wasn’t going to make the journey any easier. I was mad at myself for jeopardizing the pilgrimage. I didn’t think I could continue.

That night I rested and iced my ankle, but next the day it hurt even worse. However, with some encouragement from my mentor, I started out on the road anyway. It didn’t feel good, but I pushed through the pain. A little later in the day, I surprised myself by being able to continue and actually doing even better than before.

Then I had to think about my past and all the areas of my life where I had not pushed through to success. What had I missed out on by deciding it was too hard?

So yes, I needed to unplug from my phone, but I also needed to unplug from my limiting beliefs.

Personal beliefs are self-fulfilling prophecies. If your beliefs are positive, you will be lifted toward new accomplishments. Negative beliefs will drag you down.

Destroying limiting beliefs is not easy, but when you become aware of when they are happening, you can get off autopilot and have more control. Understand what to look for in yourself. When you run into a belief that isn't serving you, acknowledge and challenge it.

Both literally and mentally unplugging will help spark ideas, boost your creativity, and take you places you thought you’d never go.