Mobius Monday Minute – June 13 , 2011
I was reading one of my favorite blogs the other day and Coleen, the blog’s author, had linked to a fine article on the problem of information oversupply.
Instantly some bells rang for me so I’m here writing about it. As I was typing this I was beginning to realize something about what I’m doing right now. I’m adding to the incredible bulk that our age has become known for: The out-of-control growth of the humongous information pile.
That article came to the sad conclusion of what we must now be prepared for. I can tell you, it doesn’t look good.
It turns out that – for me at least – hoping to be considered as “well read” by any known standard is now virtually unattainable. There is just too much to read, watch, listen to, taste, and touch in the world today. More boldly it seems, that to try to fit the requirements for being well read into our pathetically short little lives is just an impossible task for anyone. But thankfully we have two choices of responses to choose from: “culling or surrender”.
The former is for the focused and the latter for the time-maxed.
Personally, I love reading especially since the day my wife and I gave up the idiot box a few years ago. But now I’ve become more mindful that not only am I not going to get to see or hear it all, I’m going to miss almost all of it by default. Lac of time, added by my current snail’s pace of reading and comprehension, will see to that. And, even if by some chance miracle it didn’t, the rate of info overfill would continue on so relentlessly that I’d fall way behind it anyway.
Like looking at a car accident as you pass by it on the highway, it’s absurdly fascinating to see the scale and scope of this world-wide info head-brain overfill. It’s starkly summed up by the article’s author as she looks at the numbers: “Statistically speaking, you will die having missed almost everything.”
Ugh!
As an artist that statement alone is enough to give me visuals. At least it would have if she hadn’t beaten me to it. Her clever use of her literary skill allowed her to end the essay with the imagery that information today is like an ocean and all we are going to be able to get out of it is a paltry little cupful.
That’s another good reason why I recommend making a simple little tweak in your system of thinking. It’s a “brain tweak” that allows for a fundamental change in your focus. It’s now possible to go from information – that’s not only coming to you – but information that’s now coming through you. It’s something I talk about in my free Mobius Effect Webinars and you can learn more about it here
Trust me. All is not lost.
More power to you.
PS: Would you like to learn about a new way to discover what you are really meant to do? What is true and natural for you instead of taking direction from others? Check out my free Mobius Effect Webinar.
Photo: Copyright by stephamelon on Flickr
