We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
lostbookofsales.com
We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
1–10 of 161 posts
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#2I love how you summarize the dilemma of a digital native.
May I add some juicy polarization by referencing the quote "I don't know how to live, but I got a lot of toys" from the song 21st Century Digital Boy?
Your article gives great reason to rethink. How to use the time we have been given in a meaningful way, to be labelled as a sentient being rather than a robot. It is definitely a daily test to one's choice: Rather to be a creator than consumer.
Creating things is usually a sequential process, without a secret passage, lots of effort, making own (in-)abilities public and taking real risks - consumption can be found the exact opposite.
So it's a path that needs decent courage.
In the end it makes life brighter - and as you point out: it doesn't matter if you write about thoughts, read a book in length or build a trustful relationship with a person you love. It will be a lasting and enriching experience.
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#3I love how you summarize the dilemma of a digital native. May I add some juicy polarization by referencing the quote "I don't know how to live, but I got a lot of toys" from the song 21st Century Digital Boy? Your article gives great reason to rethink. How to use the time we have been given in a meaningful way, to be labelled as a sentient being rather than a robot. It is definitely a daily test to one's choice: Rath…
Yes! To your comment, if you could commit yourself to balancing and trying to produce an equivalent of just 1/10th of all the stuff you consume, I think you would end up being a major and great creator.
And just like you said, although creating and publishing takes a decent amount of courage, it is very rewarding, especially when the main purpose to do it comes for the sake of your own observation, learning and joy.
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#4[deleted]
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#5I love how you summarize the dilemma of a digital native. May I add some juicy polarization by referencing the quote "I don't know how to live, but I got a lot of toys" from the song 21st Century Digital Boy? Your article gives great reason to rethink. How to use the time we have been given in a meaningful way, to be labelled as a sentient being rather than a robot. It is definitely a daily test to one's choice: Rath…
Yes! To your comment, if you could commit yourself to balancing and trying to produce an equivalent of just 1/10th of all the stuff you consume, I think you would end up being a major and great creator. And just like you said, although creating and publishing takes a decent amount of courage, it is very rewarding, especially when the main purpose to do it comes for the sake of your own observation, learning and joy.
Which ”funny book” are you reading?
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes! To your comment, if you could commit yourself to balancing and trying to produce an equivalent of just 1/10th of all the stuff you consume, I think you would end up being a major and great creator. And just like you said, although creating and publishing takes a decent amount of courage, it is very rewarding, especially when the main purpose to do it comes for the sake of your own observation, learning and joy.
Which ”funny book” are you reading?
The book was ”Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore.
Actually, even just by searching online you can find this small chapter from the book where he tells his ”high tech parable”, illustrating an (unfortunately) common story of a fast growing start-up that struggles to expand beyond its early adopter market into the critically important majority. I think you might consider it pretty funny too, although my humor might be dry here.... Even if it’s a bit early to tell, the book seems like a nice read!
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#7It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy.
The distraction issue is the number one issue holding back most of the young people in the mentorship group I’m part of. They’re so glued to their phones to check minute-by-minute updates about COVID death tolls, how big their stimulus checks are going to be, the value of their crypto portfolio, GameStop, and every other popular topic under the sun that they don’t have any attention left for their own lives.
Bitcoin is especially distracting right now, as they’re all nervously watching the real-time changes of their $1000 portfolios to see if they need to be sad about losing money because it’s crashing or sad about not investing more money because it’s going up.
These are all smart students. I always wonder how much more they could accomplish if they’d simply pick four hours each day to turn off their phones. That’s a tough sell, though.
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#8I've spent the last year or so trying to control my smartphone usage, by removing apps and trying to set rules for myself like "your phone stays in the kitchen for most of the day". I recently took the plunge and got rid of it entirely, and it was truly surprising to realise how much of my time and attention it had still taken, despite my best efforts.
If you think you're ready for that step, I highly recommend it. Just as mindless browsing, refreshing, and scrolling is self-perpetuating, so is the obverse. Once you start removing apps and accounts, and habits are broken, you will start asking yourself "Why am I on my (phone/computer/laptop)? What else could I be doing?"
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#9It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy. The distraction issue is the number one issue holding back most of the young people in the mentorship group I’m part of. They’re so glued to their phones to check minute-by-minute updates about…
> It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy.
I meditate every day and it's cost me nothing, uses nothing, does not require going anywhere, literally brushing my teeth is more of a commercial activity than meditation is.
Meditation is exactly what your students could use most effectively to learn to manage distracted minds, so given you are in a position of mentorship it's kind of sad you seem to think the basic act of sitting and doing exactly nothing but observing how it feels is some kind of corporate fad that should be avoided.
Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus
#10I've spent the last year or so trying to control my smartphone usage, by removing apps and trying to set rules for myself like "your phone stays in the kitchen for most of the day". I recently took the plunge and got rid of it entirely, and it was truly surprising to realise how much of my time and attention it had still taken, despite my best efforts. If you think you're ready for that step, I highly recommend it. J…
Similarly, everytime I decide to relegate my phone to another room, I am better off for it.
The problem is that, one week or another, it eventually liberates itself and somehow makes its way back into my day-to-day.
One day, I hope to solve this.