Disconnected from Reality (and You Don’t Even Know It)
Words I remind myself of often:
"You can’t be present and distracted at the same time. One builds strength. The other steals it."
— Tim Ferriss
A few days ago, I went to a commercial gym for the first time in five years.
I’ve trained most of my adult life (15+ years), but since 2020 (the beginning of COVID), my garage gym has been my sanctuary — no crowds, no distraction, no waiting for machines. Just iron, breath, focus, and a core group of my training partners.
This gym, though, had everything. It was immaculate. A boutique, yet boujee - Lifetime Fitness look-a-like - global gym with a mix of athletic performance and regular gym-goer equipment.
Everything from saunas to ice baths. Pools. A CrossFit area. Bodybuilding machine galore. Sports performance section. Even a recovery and rehabilitation center.
It was impressive — and honestly, I was proud.
People were squatting below parallel. Deadlifting with solid form. Using full range of motion. The fitness community has come a long way since I had left the traditional side of gym attendance.
But something felt off.
Everywhere I looked, people were rushing to finish their set… almost in a panicked-looking way. Not just a handful of people, but nearly everyone in the gym.
As soon as they would finish their set, they’d sit down on the bench, the machine, or where ever they were, and IMMEDIATELY start scrolling their phone.
Scroll. Tap. Refresh. Repeat. - like some life-altering event just happened and they needed to check if their family was okay.
Even the trainers.
And it hit me — most people aren’t disconnected from fitness…
They’re disconnected from reality.
Being connected to the Internet means being disconnected from the reality.
And the gym is supposed to be the opposite of that.
It’s one of the few places designed to bring you back into your body — to remind you what real effort, breath, and progress feel like.
The point isn’t just to exercise.
It’s to experience what it feels like to be fully present — to struggle, adapt, and grow without distraction. To focus on building a skill and develop your body.
If you need to escape between every set, if you can’t sit in stillness, if your thumb twitches before your muscles do…
You’re not training for health — you’re training your distraction.
Health and fitness aren’t defined by your physique, your PR, or how many times you “show up.”
They’re defined by your ability to stay connected to what’s real — to the pain and the process.
That’s why I believe environments like jiu jitsu, yoga, climbing, snowboarding, or even a run outdoors are so important. You can’t scroll. You can’t escape. You have to be there. You have to flow.
And I know what you’re going to say… “well Tim, I need my phone because of this, or that…”
There’s a difference between:
Filming a set for content or skill progression.
Checking your email every 45 minutes or so, so you can get away from work for 2 hours durning the day.
Getting a song queued up so you can crush your last working set.
And scrolling between every set and rep because silence feels uncomfortable, because boredom with reality is unbearable.
One is documentation or necessity.
The other is distraction.
If your goal is mastery — in training or in life — choose connection over stimulation. Choose to be in touch with reality, even if that’s for 2 hours every couple of days.
Because you can’t master what you’re not fully present for.
And it’s not just in the gym.
It’s in the work place.
It’s at a date night dinner.
It’s in transition.
If you can’t disconnect from the internet. Know that you are sick.
But luckily, this sickness is curable and it’s simple.
Put your phone away.
Takeaway:
The next time you train, leave your phone in the locker, in the car, or put it on airplane mode.
Train your focus as hard as your muscles and you’ll be shocked at the value, health benefits, and progression you actually make.
Training without your phone is today's real flex.
Until next Monday,
– Tim
P.S.
“To be everywhere is to be nowhere. Focus is the foundation of mastery.” — Seneca
