I had a lot of fear going into the Dancing Mind Challenge. I read frequently for a lot of my
coursework, but I also pick up my phone every few minutes. Whether I am checking messages
or scrolling through social media, I am used to having something else to turn to whenever my
attention starts to drift. During this challenge, I had to completely disconnect from the outside
world and focus on reading for three hours straight.
During my three hours, I read the short story Mermaid Fever by Steven Millhauser, a few short
stories written by my classmates, and started reading Sula by Toni Morrison. Although some of
this reading was related to schoolwork, the challenge was still difficult because I could not use
my phone or check what was happening around me. The thought of not being able to check my
phone kept messing with me. By the time I reached an hour and a half, I genuinely thought I
was going to end the challenge. I kept thinking, “What if someone is calling me?” or “What if I
am missing something important?” Even though I had no reason to believe that anything was
wrong, I struggled with the idea of being unreachable.
Despite this, I decided to push through. Interestingly, the last hour ended up being the best part
of the entire experience. By that point, I was no longer constantly thinking about my phone or
everything else I could be doing. Instead, I was genuinely enjoying the reading. I became more
focused on the stories themselves, and reading started to feel less like an assignment and more
like something I wanted to do.
The biggest thing I learned from this challenge was how often my attention is divided, even
when I think I am focused on one task. I went into the experience expecting three hours of
reading to be difficult, but I did not realize how much of the difficulty would come from resisting
the urge to check my phone. Once I pushed past that feeling, I found that I could enjoy reading
without constantly interrupting myself. The Dancing Mind Challenge showed me that sometimes
I need to disconnect from everything else to fully appreciate what I am doing in the present
moment.
Ahmed Omo’ 28