I dare you to spend some time all by yourself. Just sit in a room, by yourself, with nothing but your imagination to stimulate your mind. How long do you think you could last with only yourself for entertainment? At the risk of this article sounding like an erotica short story, we will explore the importance of protecting your mind, and some ways to develop your imagination.
Less Distraction will Force Your Mind to Find Satisfaction
Think about what you do to stimulate your mind throughout one entire day. I bet you have no idea the amount of subliminal psychological damage some of these “entertainment” devices cause to our minds. Here is my list of devices to be very wary of when in use, or just trash all together (that is if you ever aspire to be more than a driveling fool):
Television:
This is probably one of the biggest ways to waste your time and imprint your subconscious mind with counter-productive bias. I have been without cable television in my home for well over seven years and I have never missed it since. These are the reasons why I decided to pull the plug on this shallow device:
· Cable or Satellite, with just the normal extended channels, has become one of the biggest household entertainment expenses. Along with a mobile smartphone plan, you are looking at roughly $200 or more a month, plus all the personal time (time is money too) individuals spend on these devices.
· Everything on Cable Television is driven by ratings, which means substance is replaced by context. This is especially prevalent in “reality shows”, you get the meat and potatoes, but you never really get to see the recipe or the full list of ingredients. This creates a misconception about how personal success or fame is gained through the media. People often don’t see the work required behind the scenes that contributes towards generating said success and fame, and how long it really took to get there.
· Nothing on tv is educational, only referential. Television may open you to some practical new ideas, but in order to get a better understanding of how to apply it's content (see meat and potatoes), you will need to make practical use of those ideas through independent research and personal experience.
· Too much nonsense. This is the section where I could list a slew of pointless programming that does nothing but just that, program the subconscious mind, with shallow, insipid, and mostly useless of practical application, instant gratification.
Internet:
The internet is a great equalizer when it comes to leveling the playing field in specialized knowledge of virtually any kind. There is also that other side to the internet, that is not much different than the kind of entertainment found on television. I defend the internet from a productive stand point and in terms of efficiency, but I also consider it to be the “quicksand” of entertainment distraction for the following reasons:
· Everything you click on can lead to more related links tailor made and targeted for your wandering eyes, through the use of data collected from your activity online.
· Each video you watch, social media post you read, that strays away from what you wanted to look up in the first place, sinks you deeper and deeper into the distraction quicksand.
· Like the quicksand, the faster you begin browsing the faster you sink into distraction, but worse than television, you are in full control of the duration of whatever you view on the internet, which leads to your mind free to find stimuli at lightning speeds! One reason why this can be harmful to your mind is because studies have shown that prolonged unproductive use of the internet leads to short attention spans and other psychological discrepancies.
Redeveloping Your Imagination
“I’m not always creative, but when I am… you can read about it online.”
Sometimes I look at people I don’t know personally, and wonder what it is that’s running through their head. Sometimes I consider the idea that for some individuals the body could be doing so much running around that this could mean that the mind wouldn’t be running much at all. With all the distractions and running around with our fast paced/demanding lives many of us lead today, how does one redevelop their imagination?
Art and Interpretation
This could be simply taking the time to visit a museum, or relax and focus on a visual piece. I have listened to audios of Edgar Allen Poe, while trying to imagine my own interpretation of his poetry. I am no liberal arts grad, but it can get pretty interesting to see where your mind will lead you. I know some people who love to paint as a way of releasing mental clutter. Sometimes just simply grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper to draw/sketch/write what is in your mind is enough to flex your imagination.
Music
By music, I mean listening to something that will require you to think, like a high level of lyrical substance and depth in word play or messaging, or a complex instrumental masterpiece. I try to avoid music videos, because that isn’t so much a release of mental clutter as much as it is an experience of. Playing/learning an instrument is a classic means of self-expression. I have my acoustic and electric guitar, but I don’t really know how to play either that well. This never stops me from picking them up and learning a little here and there, or literally just playing with them, because adults need to play too!
Create Your Own Happiness
Preserving your mind by protecting it from abundant distraction will keep it open to new ideas, and redeveloping your adulthood imagination will give your mind the ability to create new ideas. Since you do not spoil your mind with force fed stimuli from outside influences then the mind will be forced to look inward to stimulate (this is when you get “bored”). This is why it is important to value your imagination, because the more valuable your imagination is, the more valuable your mind’s ideas can become. What is stopping you from sitting down and developing an idea, using your imagination, that stimulates your own mind?
Think about what you do to stimulate your mind throughout one entire day. I bet you have no idea the amount of subliminal psychological damage some of these “entertainment” devices cause to our minds. Here is my list of devices to be very wary of when in use, or just trash all together (that is if you ever aspire to be more than a driveling fool):
Television:
This is probably one of the biggest ways to waste your time and imprint your subconscious mind with counter-productive bias. I have been without cable television in my home for well over seven years and I have never missed it since. These are the reasons why I decided to pull the plug on this shallow device:
· Cable or Satellite, with just the normal extended channels, has become one of the biggest household entertainment expenses. Along with a mobile smartphone plan, you are looking at roughly $200 or more a month, plus all the personal time (time is money too) individuals spend on these devices.
· Everything on Cable Television is driven by ratings, which means substance is replaced by context. This is especially prevalent in “reality shows”, you get the meat and potatoes, but you never really get to see the recipe or the full list of ingredients. This creates a misconception about how personal success or fame is gained through the media. People often don’t see the work required behind the scenes that contributes towards generating said success and fame, and how long it really took to get there.
· Nothing on tv is educational, only referential. Television may open you to some practical new ideas, but in order to get a better understanding of how to apply it's content (see meat and potatoes), you will need to make practical use of those ideas through independent research and personal experience.
· Too much nonsense. This is the section where I could list a slew of pointless programming that does nothing but just that, program the subconscious mind, with shallow, insipid, and mostly useless of practical application, instant gratification.
Internet:
The internet is a great equalizer when it comes to leveling the playing field in specialized knowledge of virtually any kind. There is also that other side to the internet, that is not much different than the kind of entertainment found on television. I defend the internet from a productive stand point and in terms of efficiency, but I also consider it to be the “quicksand” of entertainment distraction for the following reasons:
· Everything you click on can lead to more related links tailor made and targeted for your wandering eyes, through the use of data collected from your activity online.
· Each video you watch, social media post you read, that strays away from what you wanted to look up in the first place, sinks you deeper and deeper into the distraction quicksand.
· Like the quicksand, the faster you begin browsing the faster you sink into distraction, but worse than television, you are in full control of the duration of whatever you view on the internet, which leads to your mind free to find stimuli at lightning speeds! One reason why this can be harmful to your mind is because studies have shown that prolonged unproductive use of the internet leads to short attention spans and other psychological discrepancies.
Redeveloping Your Imagination
“I’m not always creative, but when I am… you can read about it online.”
Sometimes I look at people I don’t know personally, and wonder what it is that’s running through their head. Sometimes I consider the idea that for some individuals the body could be doing so much running around that this could mean that the mind wouldn’t be running much at all. With all the distractions and running around with our fast paced/demanding lives many of us lead today, how does one redevelop their imagination?
Art and Interpretation
This could be simply taking the time to visit a museum, or relax and focus on a visual piece. I have listened to audios of Edgar Allen Poe, while trying to imagine my own interpretation of his poetry. I am no liberal arts grad, but it can get pretty interesting to see where your mind will lead you. I know some people who love to paint as a way of releasing mental clutter. Sometimes just simply grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper to draw/sketch/write what is in your mind is enough to flex your imagination.
Music
By music, I mean listening to something that will require you to think, like a high level of lyrical substance and depth in word play or messaging, or a complex instrumental masterpiece. I try to avoid music videos, because that isn’t so much a release of mental clutter as much as it is an experience of. Playing/learning an instrument is a classic means of self-expression. I have my acoustic and electric guitar, but I don’t really know how to play either that well. This never stops me from picking them up and learning a little here and there, or literally just playing with them, because adults need to play too!
Create Your Own Happiness
Preserving your mind by protecting it from abundant distraction will keep it open to new ideas, and redeveloping your adulthood imagination will give your mind the ability to create new ideas. Since you do not spoil your mind with force fed stimuli from outside influences then the mind will be forced to look inward to stimulate (this is when you get “bored”). This is why it is important to value your imagination, because the more valuable your imagination is, the more valuable your mind’s ideas can become. What is stopping you from sitting down and developing an idea, using your imagination, that stimulates your own mind?
