The Power of Google

Hey, what’s the weather like this week? Google it! How bad is traffic? Google it! What time is that movie playing? Google it! How do I recover from my recent break-up and deal with this new emotional and existential crisis? Uh, Google it…??

We’ve all been trained to utilize Google, and other search engines, to answer those random questions/musings and otherwise make our lives easier. So, why not use Google for personal growth and support as well?

I discovered the power that Google can have from a self-help application firsthand after my divorce. While our split seemed more amicable than most (the default divorce sentiment seems to be 98% negative…a story for another time), there were still those feelings of loss, rejection, and overall “where do I go from here?”

So I started Googling, literally every emotion and thought I had, negative or positive, about my divorce…I Googled. Like many, I was stuck and didn’t know what my future would look like or if I would even have a future for that matter. The benefits for me of this strategy were two-fold and have assisted me in other areas of my life, outside of supporting me after my relationship ended.

The first is I found support in the online community – I’d Google anything related to divorce and find a plethora of people going through the same / similar and it put my mind at ease knowing I wasn’t the only one working through these emotions and feelings. Secondly, through searching one inevitably happens upon psychology sites which lay out the different “stages” of a break-up/split, the pitfalls of each, and helpful tips for working through these challenges and ensuring one doesn’t backslide into a previous stage. This one-two punch of support and guidance throughout the process was invaluable to my recovery and eventual growth as a person.

This literally works for anything under the sun, not just when we’re emotionally distraught and our chests are tightened to the point of bending over. I have a friend (who shall remain nameless), who found his dog accidentally ate a marijuana brownie. Instead of a mild panic attack, he Googled what happened and was able to assist his pup and restore its reality. Whether or not that pup now questions said reality, is another matter!

So the next time we feel like we have nowhere to turn, know that Google is patiently waiting to assist us in helping ourselves. Yes, they’ll likely eventually take over the world and flick the switch on Skynet, but until then we can use the search engine for self-improvement hacks and living a healthier and happier life that is sustainable.

Blessings on blessings,

Sean