Not long ago, the world was quieter, and my mind seemed better equipped to deal with the level of input my senses gathered. It was also easier to let my mind idle if I wanted to. Sometimes, I would struggle to find or invent things to occupy my mind. Nowadays, I work to slow down or shut off the ubiquitous and constant bombardment of information. The signal-to-noise ratio – the unwanted chatter compared to what I need has increased disproportionately. Virtually all the information I could ever want or need is available at my fingertips, but it is even more true that discerning what I need or want has become a form of stress and confusion.
The noise is not only draining joy from our lives but there is a well-documented rise in anxiety and depression stemming from the information overload and the emotional toll social media has, especially on children – though adults are also susceptible.
I had a recent dialogue on mindfulness with a group of colleagues. The discussion centered around behaviors tied to how our clients thought about their relationships to the problems they felt responsible for fixing as CEOs. Their struggles seemed to be about how they managed the working of their minds. The question was, why do we need to practice something that is so innately human? After all, our minds, intellect, and ability to interpret complex realities differentiate us from even the most clever and industrious non-human creatures. Learning mindfulness is the antidote to the chaos.
Rats may be able to find their way out of a maze or into your homes in search of food and shelter, but the problems they solve are purely matters of survival. And while they learn from experience, they have no moral compass. As humans, what we feel, think, and believe informs our actions. That sets us apart from rats, chimpanzees, or the family dog.
Our ability to reason, creatively construct our vision of reality, and make that our future is uniquely human. Yet, our minds have become so cluttered and dulled from the external noise and our internal chatter that we need to learn to quiet our minds, examine our intentions, and connect to our sense of purpose to find and accomplish things that give us the satisfaction and corresponding joy we all seek.
Mindfulness as a Defensive Shield
I look at why my clients struggle and share that it may be useful to think of curiosity as a sword and mindfulness as their shield as they battle with the onslaught of sensory stimulation that has become the normalized chaos of modern society. Curiosity pierces through the noise in search of meaning and relevance, while mindfulness helps deflect the assault of every imaginable noise that never seems to cease. Together, they help discern what you need to know from what you don’t and protect your interests from those who insist on telling you what they think you must know.
