Why go on an information diet

Following my own advice, I went on a purge in my email inbox. I unsubscribed from a few peeps. Then lo and behold! I subscribed to more!

What happened?
Well the peeps I kept were introducing various other peeps and I got intrigued.

This made me think deeper about the reason why I should go on an information diet. Here’s where my reflection took me.

Yes, I was falling prey to shiny object syndrome again.

So let’s go back to basics. What happens when we’re intrigued? Our interest is piqued not so much by an idea but mainly by the way an idea is presented. We are suddenly curious about this new strategy/tactic/insight and think it might just be a game changer for us.

Mind you, this could be true. But only if it is legit and we apply it.

Our brain craves novelty

Yes, our brain loves it, can be despereate for it. When we get novelty, we experience a high of dopamine. So we can easily go to the next best thing and become hooked on novelty without experiencing the true import of that novel idea, strategy or tactic.

New ideas are rare

The second thing is, chances are this novel idea isn’t that novel. Ground-breaking novel ideas are rare.

When they show up, they tend to make no sense to us. Our brain prefers patterns, familiarity. Something that is too unfamiliar is easily glanced over and forgotten.

Take for example the idea that we are the average of the 5 people we hang out with. I remember this being said relatively recently. But bible readers will know that King Solomon said something similar almost 3000 years ago: ” The one walking with the wise will become wise” (Prov. 13:20)

Because I am a bit of a personal development junkie as well, I’ve noticed that for the most part, the industry is full of identical concepts only dressed differently.

One will call the distractions that technology bombards us with “Screen sucking”, or “digital amnesia” or “browser blackout” and they will all have a strategy to deal with it.

For my part, since starting this blog, I have shared strategies to help you:

And more…

But the crucial ingredient to all of this is that consistent action is required. Just scouring the internet for other tips and strategies might feel good, but as I learned in my desperate times, there’s a better method.

It’s not always the idea, but the application that counts.

A simple, unsophisticated but sound idea like having 15 minutes of focused learning first thing in the morning will yield amazing results.

That’s what I learned when I decided to go through the Youtube show “The course in Mastery“.

To this day, this clip with Jim Carthcart is etched in my mind. In it, he relates how a young man applied one simple idea to the max and blew the competition out of the water as a result.

So my take away is , whatever your goals are, take some time to focus on them.

Get information, but just enough to be able to apply it. Don’t over-indulge.

Then take massive action. That’s the only way the information is going to be of any use!

And massive action doesn’t mean to go and forget your family, friends, health, spirituality. It just means to take regular, consistent actions in the same direction. Be laser-focused. Not light bulb- scattered.

What I am going to do is focus on a goal/theme or 2 each week.

Next week, my theme is gratitude.

But I’m curious.

What would be one of your goals/themes that need your focus?

Rethink Entrepreneur

2 responses to “Why go on an information diet”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply