We are living during an age of information. From answers to
our simplest questions to our most complex problem-all can be addressed by an
easy Google search. Life advice is a
click away. It is easy to become
overwhelmed with the many choices and opinions. It is also easy to become
entranced by the information and the power we believe it holds.
What sort of power? The power to live a better life. Society as a whole and maybe you as an
individual as well, are intrigued by happiness and are eager readers of
anything that promises us an answer to happiness and everlasting well-being. In this case, we believe that knowledge isn’t
just power, it’s a means to the good life.
But we must be selective.
By letting every piece of information in and giving it our attention we
are inadvertently sacrificing great for good.
We are letting everything in with no blocker in our minds.
Constantly noticing things and recording
them, there is no net. But if you become
mindful of your impulses and thoughts, you will begin to notice when something
that is merely okay is taking up room in your life when you could be
experiencing something that is a better match for what you need.
How do you know when what you are doing is not a good fit? Usually,
you might feel antsy or impatient to get it over with. I recently picked up a magazine that I had
little interest in reading but it was part of my process to read through a
magazine before I recycled it. I started
to flip through it and the impatience crept in.
I felt overloaded and tense. I
wanted to just be done with it. But I
was worried I’d miss an important piece of information or a valuable answer, to
what I don’t know. Then I realized
something. To make room for the good moments and the true good stuff of living,
I couldn’t be spending any more time than is necessary on penny-annie stuff. So I tossed the magazine in the recycle bin.
I realized that on my
own, as needed, the information I need in any given moment will be preceded by
an inner prompting. If I need to
understand how meditation affects happiness levels, I will be drawn to
this. Meditation will become intriguing
to me. I will notice that when I
meditate or think about meditating, I feel better. This might prompt me to research the
correlation between the meditation and happiness. I don’t need to rip out an article from a
magazine and save it in a binder so I can access the information some day (if I
even remember where I store it). Information is a tool and it can be used
effectively or misused to the detriment of the user. Don’t let simple chatter, in any form, take
up precious mental space.
It used to be that I would feel guilty if I didn’t finish
something whether it be a book or a project that is supposed to improve my life. But it isn’t so much about leading a
product-oriented life, one in which you grade your life according to what you
do and obtain, as much as it is about leading a process-oriented one. A process-oriented life is when you are aware
of yourself, emotions and choose to act, if action is required, as necessary.
This is a life of embracing the simple pleasures and knowing when to say enough
is enough. So if a book loses its
appeal, or a project ceases to have its oomph, you have two options. You can determine whether it is important to
you and thus, you need to power through it.
Or you can decide that perhaps it is draining you more than the end will
benefit you and then choose to let it go.
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