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I don't know about you but even I, as an avid learner of all things new and good for me, am about to burst!
Do you feel like that too?
We are fortunate and at the same time afflicted by the constant and free access to so much information.
You read something that will make you healthier and pledge to do this from now on. You start as planned and one day as you happily browse...you see a contradictory piece on the very thing you have been doing to improve your health!! So frustrating isn't it?
What do you do?
There are a number of things you could do:
1.Reduce your browsing habit, therefore reduce exposure to information overload
2.Research what you have read until you are satisfied with what is fact and what is fiction.
3.Do what 'feels' right to you
Is this new thing you've started is actually working for you....if it is, what's the problem?
The point I'm making is that we are so exposed to having our minds changed, disturbed, influenced by what we see, read, hear; more so now than ever with all this free-flowing information everywhere you look.
When do you stop and say "enough is enough!"?
The main offenders in my opinion, are posts on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and more recently since my mother has mastered the art of chain mail, WhatsApp...arrrghhhh the pain! Some things are really useful...others, well!
I ignore delete or block anything I know is potentially detrimental to me. Life used to be so much simpler in the days before all of these wonderful mechanisms that help you stay in touch...didn't it?
How is a person supposed to create clarity in their minds with all this data?
I have made a decision that ensures I do not overload myself with information, if knowing something is important to me, I will usually research it's validity with my tech savvy girls...if it isn't valid I won't give it another thought.
I limit my exposure to general and varying information browsing, I do this for a around 40 minutes a day that's my lot for the day. The news, I avoid...it upsets, angers and frustrates me. I seldom watch it and never at night before bedtime, that's not how I want feel before I to go to bed (let's admit it most news is negative). I would strongly recommend you adopt this or a similar strategy to maintain sanity and calm.
We have all been given a platform to voice our opinions on the things that matter to us.
With billions of people on this planet, asserting their voices, can at times, cause us overwhelm. Reading other people's opinions can sometimes be so bloody irritating can't it? Especially when they don't align with yours.
So is there a right and wrong?
Well of course there is but finding and agreeing that in some cases needs to be thought through. Firstly is it worth the battle? Is it worth you feeling all the negative emotions that you may feel whilst making your challenge?
These days (as I get older and wiser), I try my very best to appreciate that there will always be differing opinions because people see the world from their own perspective; as we say in NLP, it is their map of the world and it will look very different to yours....so best to accept, agree to disagree and 'let go' it's not worth holding onto these things, in fact, it's unhealthy.
Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional juicy debate, preferably face to face, however, you need to be mindful that you do not create too much negative energy as this will attract more negative energy and I'm sure you know how that type of day pans out.
My advice, choose your battles, particularly on line; people are braver online, saying things they may not say face to face. Just as the words you say cannot be taken back, neither can the words you type.
Protest through silence or sign a petition that may make an actual difference, go and find others with similar views to yours so. My most satisfying silent protest is unfriending or blocking offensive, rude, arrogant people...that little click of a button can bring such immeasurable satisfaction.
So my friend, enjoy this amazing platform we call the internet, utilise it to your benefit. If it makes you feel like a suffused water balloon, switch off, get up, go for a walk; become present in the real world, breathe, smile and feel what it is to be alive.
If you're looking for clarity,. calm and insight into dealing with difficult people and situations...get in touch