Garbage in, garbage out.  It is definitely true for the body. As I get older I fight to keep the beer belly away (beer is a weakness for me).  We all try to concentrate on what we eat as we get older but overall  I think what you feed your  mind is even more important.  

A few years ago the term “Information diet” made the rounds.   The overall gist was to be conscious of what you consume mentally . It talked about ignoring the news, the social media world,  and overall choosing what you feed your brain.

What you read or watch affects your mood and your mental state. If you consume negative articles all day you will feel negative.  Your feed shows how celebrities have a fantastic life and picture perfect air brushed abs. When you end up comparing your abs to theirs it makes you feel bad.   No one on your social media posts how crappy of a day they are having.

News and social media are empty calories just like beer. 

But the Information Diet is not just about eliminating news and social media.  It’s not about just eliminating negative information.   It’s about knowing what you want your output to be. Like a healthy food diet that nourishes you it is about consuming the right information to help you.

If I want to become a better writer then I need to have better input coming in.  That can be a class, it can be reading content creators I like, it can be a style I am trying to learn and copy. It’s studying writers and breaking down how they do it. Is about what I like in their writing style that I can emulate.  It’s starting with the end in mind

If I want to be healthier than digesting books or podcasts on how to be healthier will help me learn how to do it.  It is hanging out with fit people who eat well. It’s joining a running club.  It’s being influenced by what is around me.  

Choosing your inputs leads to your desired output.  If I want to be a positive person then I should not hang out with a group of negative friends.  If I don’t like dogs (I love them) then I shouldn’t go for a walk in the dog park. If you don’t want to step in manure then choose not to walk through the cow pasture.   It makes sense

But humans are passive creatures.  I would likely be one of the high up senior managers of the Passive Humans Unit group.  If we cared enough to have a group.  And being passive means managing your inputs doesn’t happen.  

I rabbit hole on the IPad each morning for around 2 hours. Reading about politics, celebrities, some science, ooooh Sports Illustrated swimsuit pics, dog pictures, input your favorite distraction.  And on and on. It’s the same stuff day after day.  The world does not change that much in 1 day. 

But the worst for me to consume is finance.

An article on the stock market is going to go up – great read it.  Right next to it is another article  about a Stock Market crash. Great –  read it.  It’s articles which likely have the same info from 2 weeks ago.  All on rotation. The same article was likely written 10 years ago and just refreshed to fill a click bait slot.  I eat it up.  

But it doesn’t do anything for me. Nothing I read will actually lead to any sort of action in my real life. It fills time. Nothing else. I would argue it’s even worse than that.  On the finance side it actually prevents any action from happening.  I become a “Rabbit Investor”.  Frozen, scared, ready to bolt.  

Reading these articles I get an instant little stress hit that somehow we all crave. Confirmation bias leads to digesting more and more articles that lead me to stay in my frozen position scared to death to do anything.

It’s not just news or finance articles that can lead me to the dark side.  The other day I was reading an old favorite blog and it ended up making me sad.  Why?  Nothing really in the articles that I was reading. They were fantastic.

The problem was the author.  For the lack of a better word he appeared to have his shit together.  He retired in his 30s and had a plan in place that he was executing.  He wasn’t one of these guys who was trying to sell you something or to get page views.  His blog is actually gone and can only be found in archives .  He retired to enjoy watching his kids grow up and to start a new life. 

I ended up comparing myself and my path to what he had done.  And I got depressed. Not because there is anything wrong in my life but just because it made me think about what I could have done.  I wish that I had the same conviction he had.  That I should know exactly what I was going to do.  That I was going out living to plan. Whatever my plan is.  

So here I was consuming good input in my mind and one of the worst human traits surfaced. I was comparing myself to others. Nothing good comes out of comparison.  There is always someone who has it better who makes us feel bad.  There is always someone who has it worse.  Rarely do we compare ourselves to people who have it worse. Comparison is evil when looking upwards. 

I was shocked at how easy it can happen.

I am lucky that I never have developed the typical social media habit with regards to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. I can see where they have their place but it would be even more information overload. 

I’m a little old school which has likely helped me filter out some of it.  I just started listening to podcasts in the last couple of years.  Maybe I’ll try Youtube someday.   

We have a little Death Star hideaway on our version of the Forest Moon of Endor which helps break the cycle.  Best thing – no internet coverage.  No cable or satellite TV. Very little cell coverage. Old School.  Automatic filter. If I want to read something or watch something I have to bring it with me.  It puts a pause on the rabbit hole diving.

So for me, consuming needs to be more intentional than it has been for the last few decades.  There should be some sort of intention. That I am going to get something out of consuming content.  If the purpose is just to pass time and relax then I should pick up a fiction book or watch some Netflix.  Anything that keeps the mind from causing some negative reaction about myself.

Distractions at a minimum have to be positive and bonus points if they reinforce part of your plan. A positive resource that I found that could be fun is the library.  Walking down the non fiction aisles brings a thousand different ideas of what you can learn about.  Art work of Dr Seuss – cool.  Top 100 Bugs Bunny cartoons and their background – awesome.    Biographies of celebrities – pass.

So I need to break my habit of passive consumption in the morning.  Padme if you are reading this I know you are grinning ear to ear with that” “I told you so look” you get

Clear my mind of the bad input.  It will allow more creativity, more self-generated ideas.  More get up and go.  More life.

Here is to intention.