I finally have it. Too much information was coming at me from all sides, and I didn’t have the necessary self-discipline to take a break. So I left Facebook (kinda, but a long story), and I haven’t been back since.
I can not do it. I like to follow friends, but I can’t take the barrage of news stories, puppy videos, products-you-should-use-because-of-the-environment, that-Disney-princess-you-quiz. Everything just comes at you from all sides, you know? And when there is so much information out there, you have no idea how accurate some of it is, or how useful it will be.
So how do we find clarity in information overload? Because we have enough coming at us from all sides without having to spend time scrutinizing everything we see. How can we save our circumstances from going overboard? It takes a lot of mental awareness and self-discipline, but to get there, here are five ways to find mental, emotional, and intellectual clarity in our modern times.
Take regular social media breaks
People do this all the time, but taking a week off every month or so will help clear your mind of all the junk (and good stuff too) you see in the world. If you’re struggling to stay away from an addiction—like I am—or you’re experiencing FOMO, remember that you’ll be much better mentally after just seven more days, and you Can schedule posts if you must attend. But people will understand, especially if you tell them.
Take regular breaks from the news
However, not so much that you become stupid. I’m still trying to find that balance now that I don’t visit my old sources regularly. We still owe it to our fellow humans to know how to help.
But a few days here and there won’t spoil your responsibilities, and if anything Really big thing happened, you can be sure your friends and family will tell you about it.
Ingest information from places other than digital media
The blog is great, I happen to like mine, but you will find coherence if you take a break from the TV, from the Internet and pick up a book. Not only will that put less strain on your eyes, but you’ll also have less distraction from all the tabs in your browser (That is me!) and you will be able to process what you read.
Go out
When you take a social media break, do something productive and go for a walk in the woods or something. I’ve always found that nature slows down the mind and clears the mind.
Exercise
Do you really need one more reason to work out? How about actively fighting the stress you’ve gathered from the barrage of information? How about moving your body while slowing your mind?
Now more than ever we must actively fight the demons that attack us. It’s not called the information age for nothing. And while information is actually a wonderful thing—we can make better decisions and move forward because of it—we must establish gatekeepers in our lives, because otherwise this overload can catch up and destroy us.
Sounds kinda terrible. But I do wonder about our mental issues that we struggle with more and more and think that all this pressure from all sides has probably had the smallest part in affecting the way we see ourselves and the world around us. There is hope, but it is a cross we must bear in 2017
