It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, Episode 871.

Most Emergencies Aren't.

And, right here, right now, both by Joshua Fields-Millburn of the Minimalist.com,

and I'm just a mall like your personal narrator reading to you every day, just like an audiobook,

but free of charge. Mostly from blogs, but sometimes from books,

and always with permission from the websites. That's very important, otherwise it would be

copyright infringement. And the Minimalists were the first authors I got permission from,

fun fact. For now, let's get right to today's two posts as we optimize your life.

Most Emergencies Aren't by Joshua Fields-Millburn of the Minimalists.com

A few years ago after chucking my television and jettisoning home internet,

I locked my cell phone in a drawer for a few months. Boy, oh boy, did I learn a lot about my lonely,

distracted self after removing those pacifiers from my reach. Smartphone Problems.

Addiction. I was addicted to my smartphone constantly twitching for the next important email,

viral video, or Facebook message, ignoring the world in front of me for a universe of zeroes and

ones. Disconnection. Our technology is wonderful, it is enabled us to connect with the infinite

expanse of this world, but it has also given us a weapon to several our deepest connections.

True, we can't tweet with folks on other continents, I've met most of my closest friends online,

but in doing so, we sometimes isolate ourselves from the person sitting across from us.

Dependency. Like a child's security blanket, my knee to my phone to feel safe, calm,

whole, and like that child's, when I lost it, I lost it. Panic struck each time my hand

involuntarily breached the pocket where the device normally waited for me. Impulsivity.

The opposite of intention is impulse, which accurately described my former relationship with

...