Who’s in charge here?

"I was taking the pills for awhile, and then the pills started taking me."

          - Johnny Cash in an interview with Terry Gross.  All I Did Was Ask (2005)

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Who’s in charge here?

Look at almost any part of your life, and there are some fascinating questions about the objects and tools we interact with:

1. Am I in charge of my schedule? or is my schedule in charge of me?
2. Am I managing my inbox? or is my inbox managing me?
3. Am I choosing what I eat and drink?  Or have I delegated that power?

Pick any consumable, tool or technology.  It can be nourishing, or it can be draining, depending on who’s calling the shots.

This can be a tricky thing to assess, especially for items we’ve used for a long time.  Tools that once provided a service can evolve over time to be their own master (just look at the smart phone).

But phones didn’t creep into our hands. We put them there. And we have the power, if we choose, to decide when to put them away.