Too Much Of A Good Thing?
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
The Overwhelming Reality Of Information Overload
We are fortunate to be living in a time where there is no dearth of resources for learning anything we want. The only limit is what we impose on ourselves. Information is waiting to be consumed. The options are too many and unfortunately, it appears that quantity has taken over quality. This calls for action.
“Information Overload” is coming to get you. So, beware and be vigilant.
Garbage In Garbage Out
The internet has brought information to our fingertips. Anything we want, we get. But like many other things with us humans, we don’t know when to stop. We start believing that, the more information we consume, the better. However, we spend very little time evaluating the quality of information before we consume it. And this leads to the problem of Garbage In Garbage Out.
Our human bodies are made up of what we eat. If we eat right, we will be healthy. If we eat junk, we will be weak. Just like our bodies, our minds need the same or more amount of care. You want to be careful what you feed it. If you feed it the right information it will form the right knowledge and eventually generate wisdom. If you feed it low quality information, it will generate noise. In other words if you feed your mind garbage, it will generate garbage.
Reading And The Vanity Metric
You hear a lot of people talking about “x” number of books they have read and how it changed their lives and why you should read them too. You also hear about speed reading and how fast they read them. And hearing them, there are many who will try to emulate the same feat. Unfortunately, it does not work for everyone. Most of us will stumble and fall.
If our goal is to build knowledge and wisdom, I strongly believe reading “x” number of books should never be the metric we should be chasing. Instead, we should focus on reading a few extremely good books and consider re-reading them multiple times at different stages of our lives. Same goes for blog posts, interviews, videos, podcasts and so on.
Be Conscious
It is important to be judicious and conscious of your time and effort. If a book or any other resource you consume is something that does not engage you or appears to be of a lower quality, STOP and keep it aside. There are a bunch of good books, articles, podcasts etc. out there, unfortunately there are more that are bad. You have to be extremely picky of what you want to feed your mind with. Remember - “Garbage In, Garbage Out”
Spacing
It is key to give your mind the time to distill information. Just like us humans, our minds need their own space. Allow the mind to digest all that you have fed it. Don’t rush. It is not a race. Let the mind take its time to filter out the noise so that it can focus on the important stuff. One book well read is better than 10 books read in haste.
Nourishment
A plant thrives with the optimum amount of water, air and sunlight. Excess of any one of them is bound to hurt the plant. It needs to be nurtured. Likewise, nourish your mind with the highest quality of information you can consume. But don’t overdo it. Even the best quality information in excess is bad for your mind. Be extremely protective of your mind and focus on nourishment rather than abundance.
Information overload is rampant and has been the cause of burnouts for many. It leads to severe anxiety and confusion. The fear of missing out is one of the main reasons we continue to overload ourselves even when we are exhausted. By overloading you are only going to know too little of too many things. This in-turn kills productivity.
I would urge you all to reflect on everything you have been doing when it comes to consuming information. Try to slow down and observe yourself. Be careful what your mind is consuming and always remember, too much of a good thing is also bad!
“Garbage In, Garbage Out”
What do you think? Have you experienced anything similar? I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to drop a comment below and let’s discuss.
