Psychologist. Harvard Medical School. TED Speaker. Author of the #1 WSJ bestseller Emotional Agility. Co-Founder of Institute of Coaching.
We live in a world in which we are constantly bombarded with information. We need to be mindful of how we expand our minds and why— choosing breadth and depth in line with what truly matters to us instead of adding to them arbitrarily. Consider areas of your life you can cut back on in order to invest in more meaningful things. Art by @elesq/Instagram
The amount of information that comes at most humans in a day can quickly overwhelm. Protecting your bandwidth means learning to play both offense (intentionally choosing what you give attention to) and defense (reducing consumption of low value media/subjects). It’s amazing how much more clearly we can think when we’re not constantly bombarding our brains with stuff.
thank you Susan David, Ph.D. Perhaps more than ever .. we (may) need to be(come) mindfull about the way what we "consume". And maybe, a bit and so to speak, how what we consume may "consume us" later ... We may need to train a habbit of observing and studying how our minds cab be impacted and changed a bit by any experience. This can be: different types of media, books, texts, memes, images, paintings, performances, art and technology. As each long journey begins (and continues) with small steps .. so our minds can change dramatically in small steps. Sometimes we may not even see the steps and small changes .. So perhaps use the small steps to go where it is really good for us and the people (and nature) we care about.
This beautifully illustrates the problem with the human condition. When it comes to discerning between what might be worthwhile paying attention and what is pure dross, the vast majority of us have no filter worthy of the name. We see out distraction in all its forms and this is what keeps us 'content' and unaware of our own part in dumbing down our true potential. When we wake up, which, eventually, many do, we realise how we have been duped by those who use psychological methodology to keep us content to accept what they want us to digest and base our decisions on. By the time most people realise this, life has mainly passed us by. It doesn't have to be like this. We can make much better use of 'the most powerful organ in the known universe' and the world would be all the better for doing so, not simply because we could avoid all the distractions, but because we would be powerful beyond our current capabilities - we would advance as a species beyond our imagination! It starts with a change of mind. Everything begins in the mind, if only we knew...
I would say instead of reading information across social media, just stick with book reading. Constant book reading gives permanent and life lessons. Daily we used to read lots of quotes, lessons related to leadership and other techno lessons via social media but we remember very few. #bookreading
I agree! **Susan David, Ph.D.**, is an award-winning psychologist affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Her work centers around emotional agility, which involves how we engage with our emotions and how it shapes various aspects of our lives, including careers, leadership, families, health, and overall well-being. She emphasizes the importance of cultivating agility, resilience, and authenticity in order to lead happier and healthier lives. If you're interested, you can explore her TED Talk on emotional agility, which has been viewed by over 10 million people⁴. It's fascinating how our mindset and emotional approach can impact our experiences and choices! 😊 (1) About - Susan David. https://www.susandavid.com/about/. (2) Susan David - Home. https://www.susandavid.com/. (3) Susan David, Author at Next Big Idea Club | Next Big Idea Club. https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/susan-david/. (4) Susan David PhD - Performing Artistes. https://performingartistes.co.uk/artistes/susan-davidphd.
There is not enough discussion on th topic of information overload within the workplace. I find myself ignoring some information that may be pertinent to my job but need to block it out because it is too much. I would be curious to know if there are more effective strategies both at work he individual level and large organizational level to help better manage information overload?
Susan David, Ph.D. Yes, it is so important to be on the side where we are just observers and seeing what is going inside us. And then with awareness, segregate it, make it habit and then slowly shut down the information source that is not helping us. It is a process but commiting to it can always save so much time, energy, mental issues and so much more... You are doing a good job sharing and putting this perspective out in public ..
Barrister | Chief People Officer & Group Legal Counsel at Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels
1moAn excess of information creates a poverty of attention. The plight of the modern world. We need to spend more time with ourselves, alone, through mindfulness and journaling.