From Tony Schwartz’s essay “In Praise of Depth” in the New York Times:
I’m craving more depth in my life, and so are [my coworkers]. My strong suspicion is that it’s because we’re drowning in so much trivia — a tsunami of texts and tweets, instant messages and Gchat; Facebook posts and bookmarked websites we mindlessly cruise; and multiple Google searches to get answers to the endless, often useless questions that happen to pop into our overcrowded minds.
The hunger we’re all feeling is for instant gratification. It’s not unlike the siren call of a fragrant chocolate chip cookie — or, for that matter, the allure of any drug that promises a frisson of pleasure.
But the dopamine squirts we get from these drugs are short-lived. They mostly prompt a craving for more — a compulsion to match the initial buzz by upping the ante in the face of diminishing returns. What we chase through our digital devices is instant connection and information. What we get is no more nutritious or enduringly satisfying than a sugary dessert.
We don’t need more bits and bytes of information, or more frequent updates about each other’s modest daily accomplishments. What we need instead is more wisdom, insight, understanding and discernment — less quantity, higher quality; less breadth and more depth …
If we’re forever flooding the brain with new facts, other information necessarily gets crowded out before it’s been retained in our long-term memory …
Shilajit ES capsules: The capsules possess mountain of benefits cheap tadalafil pills to destroy various weaknesses of male libido. Its herbal formula contains more sildenafil online than 50 kinds of natural herbs. You don’t have to worry about products going out of stock or being in long queues to buy your medication. also you don’t have your choices restricted as you can select from a wide pool getting viagra in australia of products from generic pharmacy websites. many additional offers can be availed through purchase of safe FDA approved generic medications online. Sleeping with your eyes open is not healthy and hinders your body’s pharmacy online viagra natural healing process.
Going deeper does mean forgoing immediate gratification more often, taking time to reflect and making more conscious choices. It also requires the capacity to focus in a more absorbed and sustained way, which takes practice and commitment in a world of infinite distractions.I’ve got nothing against simple pleasures. I love chocolate. I still watch “Grey’s Anatomy.” I read celebrity profiles in magazines. I’m just arguing against them as a steady diet and in favor of doing the more important and valuable work first, and the trivial stuff later.
Yes! As I devote several hours each week in 2014 to sanding, painting, stripping wallpaper, and updating finishes in my home, I find the manual labor — which takes as long as it takes, with few shortcuts available or appealing — frees my mind to think and process.
Up on a ladder, I might listen to music or an audio book, but I can’t paint with one hand and surf the Web with the other. The contemplative time, coupled with the repetitive motions, is addictive.
We’re seeing this in some of our maker kids, too. At the end of a high-stimulus school day, some repeatedly choose sewing over photo editing or 3D modeling, for example. Sometimes, moving our hands while freeing our brains is what we need more.
Image” “Touch Up” by Ian Muttoo on Flickr. CC-BY.