I agree with much of this and have huge admiration for the force and clarity with which you've expressed this. You are right - this is the greatest challenge facing all of us.
But having battled this for years, the only part I'd question is whether we truly have that power to resist in the moment - we have unwittingly trained our minds to automatically pick up the phone.
So the right response to diligently train your mind in the opposite direction. I've committed to a 1000 hours of retraining my mind. I have a full time job and kids, so the time I use is on my commute.
It took a month before I regained control over the automatic impulse. Epictetus taught that "no great thing is created suddenly", and the same applies to reclaiming our attention.
The brain throttles empty stimulation with an anti-endorphin that can take over twice as long as the session to clear.
Not only is our attention being stolen, but we are the ones paying the price. With interest.
(More here if curious: https://hereisyourbrain.substack.com/p/what-a-binge-does-to-dopamine)
Stayed off social media since January.
I have been able to achieve 4 of my targets made since 2023 😆💔.
Where attention goes, energy flows 💯💯
Only left with this app and YouTube, where I read book summaries and narrations or TED talks.
No cartoons, no dramas, no BS, just focus.
I am winning.
That line about not remembering what you saw hit.
I’ve had too many of those “where did that go” moments.
Lately I’ve been trying to pay more attention to that exact point where I reach for my phone without deciding to.
Sorry, what is social media?
Every tech company on earth knows that your attention isn’t just valuable. It’s the most valuable resource in the modern economy,
Absolutaley hillarious, that I read this in an app, because a notification popped up on my phone😁
I agree with much of this and have huge admiration for the force and clarity with which you've expressed this. You are right - this is the greatest challenge facing all of us.
But having battled this for years, the only part I'd question is whether we truly have that power to resist in the moment - we have unwittingly trained our minds to automatically pick up the phone.
So the right response to diligently train your mind in the opposite direction. I've committed to a 1000 hours of retraining my mind. I have a full time job and kids, so the time I use is on my commute.
It took a month before I regained control over the automatic impulse. Epictetus taught that "no great thing is created suddenly", and the same applies to reclaiming our attention.
Discipline is the key🔑
Thanks for sharing.
This is highly informative. I used to have a parallel thinking about advertising and its capture of one's attention.
My attention is generally captured by posts on LinkedIn that resonate with my ethics.
Great share.
Thank you!