By living in a world where there is a constant stream of information, our minds are tricked into believing that we need more of everything. You do however have choices and are able to limit that influence and determine what you let into your sight. You can choose what books you read, what movies you see, which TV shows you watch and how you would like your life to be.
The following article highlights some aspects of our modern world that you may like to consider..
Is this You?
Life is filled with many opportunities. It is important for everyone to decide what is the correct path to take – this comes through consciously observing and reflecting on situations that may be unproductive, such as reading emails, facebook messages etc., during the middle of the night. The consequences of continuing this approach are a reduction in your quality of life and also, placing yourselves always under constant “high alert” and the stress that goes with it.
In the workplace, how many times do you notice people checking through emails or text messages on their smart phones? In recent discussions with clients, it has become apparent that while we all experience things differently, there are many situations occurring where important messages are being overlooked. And, because we can only focus on a few things at any given time however, your brain operates in delete mode and you only see the first sentence or, the product with the brightest colour, or the service with the most appealing message. This applies to email messages in the business world, or being overlooked by a friend in a crowd or, even nearby, due to pre-occupation in your mind with so many other things. You need to increase your awareness about when you could be operating in delete mode due to the overload of messages, as you may be missing an important event, or relationship opportunity in your life.
Why we Delete things
All of our experiences in the world are mental and where your attention goes your mind goes. When you watch too much trashy TV, your mind becomes clouded. You DELETE information because your brain is overloaded from your experiences . People can get easily overwhelmed and therefore not "see" the clear choices right in front of them. There’s really no simple answer to that (except turn off the TV and the computer and go read a book, fly a kite, take a walk, etc.). I think ideally, you need to stop focusing on getting so much information, so quickly. It’s okay to miss some things. It’s okay not to put up a post about every breaking story as soon as it happens. It’s okay not to tweet everything you see or do. It’s okay not to have 5,000 friends.
I think that instead of designing services that help us create more and more micro content, we should be trying to create and promote services that help us to filter the best of the more intelligent, thoughtful fare.
What is your life about?
Give yourself some time and space to get away from the expectations, the conversations, the noise, the media and the pressure. Take some time each day to go for a long walk and think. Whatever you do, move away from anything that distracts you from contemplating your life and where you want it to go. Ensure at this time that you are in the present moment, rather than the past or looking too much in the future. Remember that you can’t drive your life forward if you are always gazing through your rear-view mirror!
Creating change in your life is an opportunity for further discovery about who and what you are meant to become and how you can contribute i.e. your life purpose. It is important to learn to know yourself and begin answering the big questions of life i.e. what inspires you, why you are here and what you are supposed to experience, learn and get out of this lifetime. After eliminating all distractions, consider the following:- what makes you feel great about yourself, what are your goals, who inspires you most?
Also, start and notice your thoughts, feelings and emotions. When you start looking “from” your thoughts or looking “in” your thoughts, bring your attention back to watching your thoughts. By distancing yourself from your thoughts, your mind will experience peace, your ego loses its power over you, which means that you become free from futile thinking, worries, and restless thinking. Awareness goes beyond thinking.
Tips for Change
- Technology and relationships. Technology is intended to enhance your ability to collaborate, not replace the need for personal interaction. Leadership requires making a personal connection with people. Technology can’t do that.
- Listen more, speak less. Abraham Lincoln said, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
- Use a note book. A note book allows you to stay in the meeting, focus on the presentation or discussion and still capture any notes or thoughts you may want to refer back to later.
- Live in the present moment. If you’re in a conversation, be in the conversation. Don’t let distractions pull you away from what’s happening right now. The email will still be there when the meeting’s over.
- Never meet just to meet. if you are responsible for a regularly scheduled meeting and there is no real reason to meet, cancel it until you have a real agenda.
- Have timeout. Reflect on your last holiday experience or time away and what you discovered, how you felt. Now is the time to add to and enhance your life experience.
- Simplify your life. Take notice of all the things you did in the previous week and decide if you can achieve an even better outcome in a simpler way.
As you can see, information overload is rampant. You need to combat this by simplifying and eliminating the information you receive on a daily basis. You can do this by focusing strictly on only that which you want to learn. After that, you should focus on turning your new understanding into real habit changes and creating a life that you truly deserve.
