We think quite carefully about what we put into our bodies. Most of us think rather less about what we put into our minds.
Yet from the moment we wake up, we are offered information. News. Notifications. Emails. Social media. Other people’s opinions. Arguments. Disasters occurring thousands of miles away. Things we are told we should be frightened of, angry about or obsessed with.
Some of it matters enormously. Some of it doesn’t. And almost all of it is competing for one very valuable thing: your attention.
Informed, without being immersed
I am not suggesting you become uninformed or retreat from the world. Quite the opposite. I think being curious about the world matters. But being informed and being permanently immersed in information are very different things.
News organisations need audiences. Social media platforms need engagement. The material that makes us stop and react tends to travel further. Fear, anger, outrage and conflict can be especially effective at that.
That does not mean everything you read is false or that there is some great conspiracy controlling it all. It means we should remain conscious of what we are consuming, and why.
Read different sources. Question confident opinions, including mine. Be particularly careful when something confirms exactly what you already wanted to believe. You can know what is happening in the world without carrying the entire world around in your head all day.
Pause before you buy
The same applies to the constant invitation to buy something. I have a weakness for cars. I adore nearly everything about them, so I know the feeling of “I want, I want, I want” rather well. I try to ask myself: “Mark, how will you use this car? When will you use it? What else could you do with the money?” I do not always get the answer I wanted.
There is no virtue in scolding yourself for liking beautiful things. It is useful, though, to know when a purchase answers a real need and when it is meant to fill a gap it probably cannot fill. I have bought things to make myself happy; the pleasure was often short-lived and occasionally followed by a dollop of remorse.
If you suspect something will be forgotten in a month, give yourself a little time before buying it. Save for something you will value for years, make something, or give something away. See how each choice feels.
Give your attention somewhere to go
You are allowed to put the phone down. You are allowed to turn the television off. Look at the sky, talk to somebody you love, go for a walk, fix something, learn something, or simply sit quietly for a while.
Try noticing how you feel after ten minutes with the news or a social feed. Then try ten minutes outside, or with a person you care about. You can make your own mind up about what deserves more of your day.
Your attention belongs to you. Over time, what you repeatedly give it to becomes part of the world you experience.