Reducing Info Intake (vidz AND reading): Make Room for Listening

[Matt23]

Recently I've been abstaining from YouTube binging.  I've found a pretty immediate shift.  It's as if the energy I used intaking information on YouTube was diverted towards creating things.  

Highly motivational and works well (for me anyways) to actually produce more things.  

In the past few days I've sort of tried to take this a bit further in not reading or studying so much.  I've been listening to my body more as to what feels best, and have noticed that sometimes when I feel an almost addictive impulse to read, I feel a little bad.  Like I should just be contemplating life, or at least not reading and maybe just Being more.  

 

This leads me to believe that reading and studying can become a huge distraction and obstruction to a quality life.  A creative life.  A meaningful life.  

 

Be careful; anything can be turned into a distraction.  

Listen to the signs and feelings your body is constantly throwing up at you.  

It's as if it takes constant attention.  Moment-by-moment.  

Be like this:

 

I have wondered if this approach is "too much".  Too much "reacting" to bodily feelings. 

Do you think so?

What do you think is the appropriate way to both listen to your body's wisdom while also creating schedules and plans? 

Do you think one is more optimal? 

How would you incorporate both?

Edited January 21, 2023 by Matt23

[Phil King]

 

48 minutes ago, Matt23 said:

This leads me to believe that reading and studying can become a huge distraction and obstruction to a quality life.  A creative life.  A meaningful life.  

 

Whats wrong with  the pursuit of knowledge. If you never read a single book in your life, you would have no deep theoretical knowledge of anything really in the world. If you read 100,000+ books, you would probably reach a point of diminishing returns and have too much theory and no practice. 

 

I wanna read like 1000+ books in the next 10-20 years. The problem is actually finding good ones worth reading. Out of the 100 million+ books ever published, there are probably like 10,000 really good ones(Nonfiction). Then when you have read the top 0.001% of human knowledge, you will have serious advantage on 99.999% of humans. 

48 minutes ago, Matt23 said:

How would you incorporate both?

Read an hour a day and meditate an hour a day. Or at least 30 minutes for each. Also learn speed reading techniques to read at 800+ Wpm and be able to read 2 books a week while reading like less than an hour a day.

^^^ COol vid(Skip to 2:06)

 

I usually go on binges where i read like 5-10 books in a month and then take a few weeks off

Edited January 21, 2023 by Phil King

[Matt23]

54 minutes ago, Phil King said:

 

Whats wrong with  the pursuit of knowledge

Absolutely nothing.  Never said there was.

All I was saying was that it's possible for reading and studying to become a distraction.   And to watch for it by listening to your body, and not override your body's signals by believing information intake and studying are absolute goods.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  

It was basically a word of caution since I found myself slipping in this regard and think others probably could benefit from hearing it.

If you genuinely feel great reading... go at it.  Just don't go so far into it that you end up using it as a way to distract from other important things in life.