We are processing more information than ever today. What does that make us? How can we make life as worth living as possible these days? How do we get the decisive flashes of inspiration these days?
Consumption of information then vs. now:
People used to live in smaller life groups. The information they had to process was mainly limited to directly ensuring survival, such as obtaining food or defending themselves from attackers. Today, in the context of a mature digitalization, at least in our western world, ensuring survival plays a subordinate role. But the amount of information consumed daily is enormous. We have the possibility to access the entire knowledge of the world at any time and anywhere, we can communicate constantly with everyone and always know what our friends are doing. Our economic system is flourishing, as companies have the opportunity to reach us in every situation in life and to further stimulate consumption.
What does that make us?:
But what does this do to us? What does it do to us to be flooded so intensively with information? What does it do to us to live increasingly in digital worlds and increasingly lose touch with our environment?
The daily content of most of us consists mainly of obtaining information. At work - obtaining information. On the train - the latest news and Instagram. On the road - Whatsapp and music. At the sink - a podcast about more efficiency. And in bed at night - videos on YouTube or Instagram.
We get so much information that it is hard for our minds to find quiet moments. I mean, how is a head supposed to relax when it has to consistently process as much input as possible via as many senses as possible? How should it relax when it has to absorb much more than it can get rid of and is constantly overlaid with information?
In addition, I see many stressed-out people. I see people who have insomnia or headaches. And I see many people who can't switch off properly. And then we wonder. We wonder why we never really get any rest. We wonder why we somehow constantly feel overwhelmed and stressed in achieving our goals. And we wonder why we can no longer focus on our real challenges.
Our brain is designed to receive information, process it and draw results from it. However, it is not designed to be constantly, steadily and exclusively bombarded with information and to only be able to process it rudimentarily. We need our quiet moments. We need our moments in which we don't listen to music or look at a screen. We need our moments in which we can hear the wind in the trees and feel our environment. We need our moments in which we occupy our brain with simple haptic tasks. We are also only living beings from nature and should not lose touch with it too much.
Do you know this picture of the cow flying through the air in a hurricane? That's what all this information does to us - until our head is flying around our ears.
Why don't you try:
Why don't you try to review what you experienced during the day in the evening and for example keep a small diary?
Or try to leave your mobile phone at home while shopping or playing sports and give your head a little rest. I mean: You used to be able to do that, right?
Or try to leave your mobile phone in flight mode for a few minutes and enjoy the feeling that a message might not come at any moment. After that, you will feel better and have more energy for the real challenges.
Interesting: The decisive flashes of inspiration usually come when you let your thoughts wander and don't superimpose your brain with anything.