Control your mind and think creatively
With the access to entertainment and distraction we have today, it is so easy to go weeks or months without having to craft your own thoughts or opinions. We get caught up in the constant swirl of the news or social media that we don’t give ourselves time to think. This is really scary, and leaves us particularly vulnerable to manipulation by media, political parties, social media corporations who, despite the messaging, may not have our best interests at heart. 🤯
I am just as vulnerable as the next person, so I have created a brief framework to help me be an active participant in my thoughts and help be to be more creative and original.
Be mindful of what you consume
One of the biggest traps we fall into is to mindlessly scroll through social media. Pick your poison, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube…. there is always something to take your focus. This is fine, if you are able to mindfully consume. The problem is that the cards are stacked against you. There are entire industries devoted to keeping you glued to these apps. The corporations behind these programs have weaponised phycologists, UX/UI developers, and designers to keep you on their platform and consuming their ads. The all fabled algorithm has been designed and perfected using machine learning to understand what you want to see, sometimes better than you do. You need to keep this in mind when you are using these apps and place limits on yourself if it becomes a problem for you.
Consume actively rather than passively
When you are consuming content, it should be in a conscious, active manner. If you want to just zone out and scroll some TikTok, that’s fine, but be conscious of why you are doing it and be careful not to get caught using it out of habit. If you are a creator, using these apps for inspiration is great, but you need to approach them with the mindset of inspiration rather than escapism. You are using the app to feed your creativity.
In my opinion, a better use of active consumption time is to read. It’s the same idea as consuming any media, but you’re in control. You can choose the book, your reading speed and whether you need to go back and re-read sections, but it doesn’t happen without your conscious effort to read. You can’t get caught in a mindless scrolling loop, because you are actively engaging with the content. Now, we have all got so caught up in a good novel that we couldn’t put it down, but I argue that that kind of consumption is much more healthy than social media. You are able to develop a whole world and story in your brain, which you can overlay onto your day to day life. It is a much more deliberate and mindful way to expand your mind.
Give your mind space
Another amazing way to expand your mind is to give it time to breath. Give your mind time and space to be bored and create. We get so caught up in day to day stresses. The constant access to distraction doesn’t help. Deliberately giving your mind room to relax is so important to help you create and develop your own ideas. You need to be bored sometimes. Its healthy. I don’t meditate, but I can see the appeal. You don’t need to be too rigid with this, but incorporate it into your day. If you are waiting for an appointment, instead of escaping into your phone, have a look around and observe the life going on around you. Its incredible how much thinking you can get done when you’re not thinking. This is why I love flying. It’s one of the last places where you are uncontactable (for the most part). You can put some headphones on to drown out the noise and think. I get some of my best work done on planes, not because I am chained to my laptop, but because I’m not.
Create things
Finally, and in my opinion, the piece that brings it all together, you need to create things. It doesn’t matter what. It could be a blog, a piece of software, a YouTube channel, a sculpture, knitting, whatever. If you are creating things, you are flexing your brain and making your own decisions. You are making mistakes and improving from them. You are using your brain as it was intended to be used. The act of creating is so freeing for the mind and help to clarify your thoughts, even if they are unrelated to the act of your creation. This follows along the same lines of
The best way to learn is to teach
You are able to clarify your thoughts so much more clearly if you have to articulate them. Extra points if you create in public and share your creations with the world.
By implementing this framework, I have been able to redefine my relationship with social media and reduce my stress and anxiety, and have my own ideas.
Hopefully this helps.
-ST