Turn It Off

So I know in my inspiration board post I sort of said that I am not doing actual resolutions this year – I’m horrible with resolutions, I rarely succeed with them. So instead I have some goals I would like to work on. A number of them are on the inspiration board but one that isn’t involves the big screen in my living room.

I’ve always been a TV junkie. I spent way too much time watching television growing up. I mean, I did read a ton and I played with toys/friends a lot but the TV and I spent a lot of time together. I remember being allowed to fall asleep with the thing on in kindergarten (I watched Nick at Nite – Bewitched was my favorite). Looking at it now I don’t think any kid needs that much TV time.

Heck, I don’t think any 25 year old needs that much time. I’m really not a big fan of television any more. I’m totally aware of how much it sucks me in and how much time I waste sitting there starring at it. The book I’m currently reading, Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure even asks the question of whether you turn on the TV to watch a show and then turn it off or if you surf through the channels. Sadly, I tend to be a surfer.

There are really very few shows that I like: Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly being the main two. Doug and I watch Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch together and I enjoy that, especially since I find those shows fascinating and at time educational. But really, do I need to watch a rerun of Gilmore Girls for the 105489265 time at 4pm on a Wednesday? Especially when I own the whole series on DVD? No, I don’t (even if it is my favorite show ever). And I certainly do not need to watch a TV chef deep fry butter or an evil bride call her bridesmaids fat.

I have better things I could be doing. Like going to the gym, reading a book, playing with Grux, cleaning my poor messy house, or writing. So, one thing that I want to work on is turning off the television and actually doing something. I realize that this is one habit that is completely ingrained in me – when you’ve been doing something for 20 some years it can be hard to make a change. But I know that if I can stop looking at Oreos as an every day food or stop thinking of breaking a sweat as a bad thing then I can stop reaching for the remote the second I get home. And besides, the couch will welcome a chance to lose the imprint of my backside.

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