A lot of people, after coming into this journey start blaming their phone and social media as a whole for their downfall. Yes it is true, these things DO have negative impacts on your brain, HOWEVER, it goes deeper than that.
Even if you delete social media , there's a very low chance that you are going to become ultra-productive. This is because social media is just THE TOOL that we use to ESCAPE DISCOMFORT. That is our main motivation as a specie - escape discomfort and be comfortable for as long as possible. So even if you do delete social media, there's a very high chance that you -
1. Will download it back
2. Will start indulging in other things/substances
This is because our brains have been wired (this has been made worse by social media of course) to want instant gratification, to want short term pleasure. So that's the root cause of the problem. Not social media. Not the TV and fast food. You have to start dealing with your brain's urge to want comfort 24/7. You have to EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT. Just like if you have high blood pressure, you can either eat tablets (that does not target its root cause) , or find out WHY your blood pressure is high and deal with it (a similar example was given by MJ in his book).
Actionable step -
1. Do something hard right now. 20 push ups. 2 pull ups, A quick burpee session, cold shower; anything. But that has to make you go through (reasonable amounts of) discomfort. This is the way you change your brain's natural inclination to get pleasure and choose long term happiness. Repeat it throughout the day. Every time you feel like using anything distracting, do something hard.
2. Meditate more. Learn to 'see' your brain's urges. If you meditate often, you will be able to easily distinguish such urges and be like 'ah, the brain wants me to scroll through youtube shorts because it wants some dopamine'. Then go back to actionable step #1.
(Was a bit scared to write this post as I am new here and felt that why will someone listen to the advice of a 15 Y/O beginner, but again everyone has lessons to share from their life.
This is just my opinion, tell me if you agree/disagree)
Even if you delete social media , there's a very low chance that you are going to become ultra-productive. This is because social media is just THE TOOL that we use to ESCAPE DISCOMFORT. That is our main motivation as a specie - escape discomfort and be comfortable for as long as possible. So even if you do delete social media, there's a very high chance that you -
1. Will download it back
2. Will start indulging in other things/substances
This is because our brains have been wired (this has been made worse by social media of course) to want instant gratification, to want short term pleasure. So that's the root cause of the problem. Not social media. Not the TV and fast food. You have to start dealing with your brain's urge to want comfort 24/7. You have to EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT. Just like if you have high blood pressure, you can either eat tablets (that does not target its root cause) , or find out WHY your blood pressure is high and deal with it (a similar example was given by MJ in his book).
Actionable step -
1. Do something hard right now. 20 push ups. 2 pull ups, A quick burpee session, cold shower; anything. But that has to make you go through (reasonable amounts of) discomfort. This is the way you change your brain's natural inclination to get pleasure and choose long term happiness. Repeat it throughout the day. Every time you feel like using anything distracting, do something hard.
2. Meditate more. Learn to 'see' your brain's urges. If you meditate often, you will be able to easily distinguish such urges and be like 'ah, the brain wants me to scroll through youtube shorts because it wants some dopamine'. Then go back to actionable step #1.
(Was a bit scared to write this post as I am new here and felt that why will someone listen to the advice of a 15 Y/O beginner, but again everyone has lessons to share from their life.
This is just my opinion, tell me if you agree/disagree)
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