Sean’s lively conversation with Digital Wellness Coach Sini Ninkovic centers on enjoying the beauty of life without constantly depending on our smartphones.

Early on, Sini learned the role of adaptability to a new environment when his family fled Former Yugoslavia and found refuge in Austria. Later, he would earn an MBA at Haas School of Business and work with BMW, Lucid Motors, and Apple. He teaches how one can adapt to technology without being dictated by their devices in his book Untethered.

In this episode, Sini promotes being a responsible tech user by intentionally reframing habits to overcome distractions.

Episode quotes:

On choosing Haas for his MBA

[00:02:53] I really wanted to be in Silicon Valley and experience the culture there. I always had this passion for future technologies and how they can enhance our lives. As a young kid, I was just fascinated by what we were doing out in Silicon Valley, and that fascination just kept on going. As I was working on electric cars, it became pretty clear to me that the core business of cars was endangered to be taken over by Silicon Valley. I decided that I really wanted to be part of that movement, whatever was happening on the west coast. And so, I decided to apply to Haas. I was so welcomed by the people there I immediately had this feeling of home. And so, it was pretty clear to me that I made the right choice being there.

How do you have a healthy relationship with your digital devices?

[00:18:48] in my book, the first step is focused on awareness. The second is focused very much on yourself. And then the last part is focused on changing the device.

Over time, we're capable of developing a healthy relationship with most humans. It takes some years in many cases to get there. And I think we're in a similar situation right now with the smartphone. During the past decade, many of us had a pretty toxic relationship with our smartphones, kind of codependent. But in any toxic or codependent relationship, there is a breaking point. I think we are at that breaking point where a lot of people are gaining awareness of what's going on. We have the awareness now. The second step is working on ourselves to get to a stage where we can have a healthy relationship with a digital device. That's why the core of my book focuses on that self-development. And then the third part is very focused on the tools. What can you do to your smartphone to make it a better partner?

Show Links:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Berkeley Haas
• Untethered: Overcome Distraction, Build Healthy Digital Habits, and Use Tech to Create a Life You Love

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