Protect yourself from brain overload

woman in blue crew neck shirt sitting on brown couch

In our world, we are used to dealing with our worries and fears with information. If you worry, you open your phone or computer and search for information to reduce your anxiety and fears. It is common for us to use data as an antidote to tame our minds when it goes into stress mode about forecasting catastrophes in the future.

Most of the time, when we do the and search for information to see if we can find a way to make us feel safe and calm the opposite happens. We find more information and we get more worried and build more fears. Somehow, most of us seemed unaware of the excess load of information that we are continually feeding our brains.

Having access to too much information can hinder your ability to make decisions, increase confusion, and lower your confidence. You can begin t rely too much on others’ opinions and disregard the essential opinion and wisdom you have, yours.

Learn from Napoleon

Napoleon made a habit of delaying responding to any mail he received. He instructed his secretary to wait three weeks to open any correspondence. When we finally read what was in the letters, Napoleon loved to know how many urgent matters resolved on their own without his intervention. He realized that most of them didn’t even require him to take action or also reply.

Napoleon knew that he had to be selective on how he invested his brainpower in solving crucial matters. Somehow he felt that he had to filter information out to leave room for the issues that matter and require his attention. To think clearly, he understood that he had to restrict information to the critical aspects and not waste time with the insignificant things in life.

When our brain is overloaded with too much information, our attention tends to magnify problems and create more negativity around them. The media does a great job of overwhelming negative speculations and feeds those to their audience to get us hooked to fear.

Reducing the amount of information for your well-being and better brain functioning is key to all of us. Your brain cannot work at it’s best if you keep overfeeding information to it.

Postpone, reduce and limit

Think about Napoleon. Imagine what will happen if you postpone answering emails, texts, and calls for a week, two weeks, and maybe three weeks. How many issues will resolve without your intervention? How much simpler your life will be? How much additional brain power you could have if you didn’t have to waste it on trivial things?

To bring mindfulness to your daily life, consider giving some space to your brain. Give some room for your mind to think and not always search for answers on the internet or a book or finding someone else’s opinion.

Things that are essential and critical for you to know will still be in one week, two weeks, and three weeks. The trivial and unimportant things will mostly disappear.

I love being clueless

During our current global pandemic, I have restricted myself more than ever to stay away from news and media and have very little engagement in social media. I want to limit my brain from contamination with so many toxic speculations and from not wanting to be manipulated by the media.

I recently had a conversation with my husband, and we talked about some local news that I just found about. He said to me you are so behind. These are old from two weeks ago. I was happy to hear his words. I smiled and felt so much joy.

I felt so proud that I was clueless and realized that I had made the right decision. My intention to stay away from the media and news is one thing I can do for my mental health and well-being.

One quote

“Ask yourself in this moment and every moment: Is this really necessary?”

Marcus Aurelius

One question for you

What are you doing to protect yourself from brain overload?

Leave a Comment