Do not let the media disturb your peace ... (this perspective shift will save your life)

I think everyone can see that times in the US are troubling to say the least, and I can’t help but notice that so many people are letting the media cause irreparable damage to their peace, and in the worst of cases it’s destroying people’s lives.

So in this article I’m going to reveal three truths about the media that nobody is talking about, and if you read till the end, I guarantee you will see things differently.  You may even begin to question your own reality.  But most importantly, understanding these truths could quite possibly save your life, figuratively and literally.

Years ago I made a promise to never, under any circumstances, publicly discuss my political opinions. And even more importantly, I almost completely stopped consuming the news because I came to believe that today’s media climate intentionally creates chaos within society for financial gain.

After I stopped consuming the news, I immediately became less anxious. My stress levels fell, and I had far more mental capacity to dedicate to more constructive activities that really helped me to elevate my life.  Now I’m convinced that people and society overall would be in a better state if we recognized news media for the public nuisance that it is, and started being more intentional about how we consume it, because, the present-day culture of media and dialogue around current events is unnatural.

The human brain is wholly incapable of processing the glut of information that the current media climate subjects us all to.

The same way the American diet and sedentary living is driving an obesity epidemic, the modern information diet and the passive consumption of media is driving a psychological epidemic. You can call it “cognitive obesity” if you will. It is the natural result of consuming too much unhealthy information.

Let me explain….

As you may know, humans are pack animals. We cannot survive in isolation. Our strength is in numbers.  However, there is a limit to this number. Too many people, and our strength begins to fade, thus the hunting and gathering lifestyle drove humans to naturally form bands of about 50 people in size, more or less.  In rare circumstances, multiple bands would come together to form a larger group upwards of 150 people but that’s about the extent of it.

The neocortex is the part of the human brain that distinguishes us from other animals. It’s responsible for higher order skills like reasoning, language, and emotional control.  It’s also what gives us the ability to form complex relationships with others to a degree that allows for unprecedented levels of cooperation.

But the neocortex has a cognitive capacity which, when it comes to managing social connections, is capped around 150 people. This is known as Dunbar’s number.

10,000+ years ago when hunter-gatherer societies were prevalent, there was no internet, there was no printing  press, and for the most part writing didn’t even exist. It’s estimated that the human brain back then processed 50,000x less social information than we do today. To be specific the estimates are about 1MB of social information each day during hunter gatherer times, compared to about 75GB today.

This means that the neocortex operates far beyond its cognitive capacity. And when something operates beyond its capacity it is prone to malfunction.  The brain’s ability to draw rational conclusions based on available information is diminished, and the neocortex begins to make errors because it must make drastic leaps in logic to overcome information overload.

Why is this the case? Why are we so overloaded by information?

Modern society is hyperconnected. We no longer operate in bands of 50. In fact, with the internet we now operate in a collective network to the tune of roughly 6 billion people.  Add to it the nature of social media which allows for the virtually uncontrolled flow of information from any node in this 6-billion-person network to any other node in the network, and you have the makes of a civilization that is rife with information overload. This manifests itself in many different ways that we are familiar with today: extreme fear, the breakdown of social cohesion, a growing loneliness epidemic, brain rot particularly among younger generations, a mental health death spiral, and the list goes on.

But knowing this also gives us the power to be intentional with how we navigate this new reality, and if done correctly can save yourself from the fatal traps that most people fall into.  Instead, you can use this to your advantage and create a life that’s free of unnecessary mental clutter and self-destructive behaviors.

To do so, you need to understand the three truths about the media, and once you grasp these ideas I think everything will become much more clear to you.  You’ll be able to draw a clear connection between the current public discourse and the internal strife and social unrest that seems to have grown to epidemic proportions today.

So let’s talk about it.

Truth #1: You, yes, YOU, are the mainstream media:

There’s a lot of talk about distrust in the mainstream media but if you participate in any form of social media, then you are most likely a contributing participant of the mass media machine.

With very few exceptions, everything that you post shapes the narratives that fuel society.  That vacation that you posted about, that opinion about the politician you love or hate, etc. It’s all contributing to the body of information out there that influences other people’s understanding of the world.

There’s nothing wrong with this. What you post could very well be benign, or it also could have the power to inspire others into action for better or for worse.  But just know that mass media is not just a few large corporations with 1M+ viewer bases.  It is not an “us vs them” thing.  We are all collectively implicated.

I always say that we are living in a simulation dictated firstly by the physical laws of the universe, and secondly by the narratives that society collectively choose to believe.  In the past, the narratives that governed society were communicated through oral tradition, song, poetry, etc.

But as civilization evolved, the primary medium of the narrative also evolved. Oral tradition gave way to scribes and orators, then orators gave way to writing letters and the printing press, the printing press gave way to television and radio, and finally television and radio has given way to internet news platforms and social media.

With each evolution of media came an exponential spread of ideas by people who previously couldn’t, and so today here we are with an overload of information.

This is how we all became participants in the mass media culture.

Truth #2: Nobody is truly a free-thinker because media subconsciously dictates our opinions and shapes our perceptions of reality.

You may think that you make decisions on your own free will, but that’s just not the case. Virtually everything we understand about life and the universe is based on narratives someone else told us to believe.

Buying a wedding ring to symbolize lifelong commitment comes from a narrative. Competing to go to the best schools so we can land a good paying job comes from a narrative.

We may make decisions within the boundaries of the narratives we follow, but if we were truly free-thinking people we would operate far outside of the narratives.  We wouldn’t limit ourselves to choosing which wedding ring to buy, or choosing which school to attend, and which discipline to major in.

So while we make decisions throughout out lives, we’re usually choosing from pre-set selection of options that society has presented to us.  Thus we operate under the illusion of choice and free will, but in reality we are guided into whichever direction that conventional narratives point us towards.

Truth #3: The most effective media intentionally mischaracterizes reality and plays on human emotion for financial gain.

Because mass media has been democratized and because you, me, and everyone is now the media, anyone with a computer and internet access can create or perpetuate narratives, often times for financial gain. And this is where the problem lies, because when financial gain is the motive, truth and honesty take a back seat to intentionally bending reality, and inciting fear, anger, animosity, hatred, or anything else that is likely to increase engagement.

And despite how bad these narratives make people feel, they do nonetheless spike dopamine (the addiction hormone) which keeps people coming back for more. This is why when you hear terrible news, you lock in for even more information which only amplifies whatever emotions you are feeling.

So to put it bluntly, the media culture that we currently exist within has a vested interest in making sure that you are not in a good mental space because existing in a state of inner peace, tranquility, confidence, abundance, etc. is bad for business.

Now that you know the three truths about the media, I want to share a few pointers for protecting yourself, and refocusing your energy to being in a place of inner peace, joy, fulfillment, etc.

Firstly, you need to either eliminate or minimize news media consumption. Cut out all news that is not immediately relevant to you.  This means no more 24 hour news cycles and no more morning news briefs about world events.

If you recall, 2020-21 was a very crazy time, so as part of my health and wellness journey I came to a point where I stopped following the news. I went into a state of willful ignorance, and my stress and anxiety levels plummeted like a rock because I no longer received this constant feed of sensationalized information that’s specially crafted to invoke internal chaos in my mind.

By aggressively cutting back on the news, you will have done 80% of the work needed to be in a healthier mental state and avoid making counterproductive decisions as a result of succumbing to the reality-bending narratives that bring out the worst in you.

Secondly, you need to ruthlessly filter your social media. Take an inventory of the content you receive and the profiles you follow, and ask yourself, “does this align with my vision for life?”  It’s a very simple question that should have a straight-forward answer. If you do this honestly then you will filter out the information that is wholly irrelevant to your life.

So let’s say your vision entails achieving inner peace and living a low key lifestyle where you have an abundance of time and energy to spend quality time with family or close friends.  If this is the case then the “rage-bait” style of content that’s prevalent on Social Media should be banished from your feeds.

Only allow narratives that inspire you to become the best version of yourself, and let everything else go.  Even if it’s a narrative that you agree with, if it doesn’t align with the highest and best version of your future self then you have to cut it out of your life.

This is a good segue into the next tip which is to predict the narrative.  Whenever you receive news, formal education, social commentary, or online content, understand that there is ALWAYS a narrative behind it that someone is trying to promote.  The narrative may or may not be good or bad. That’s beside the point. Just know that someone stands to benefit by presenting information in a way that influences you to believe in a certain ideology, to spend money, or to take some other form of action.

This article is literally me trying to promote a narrative that’ll convince you to adopt my view of the world, to take action to change your life accordingly, and (because I do run a business) potentially book a consultation with me. Understanding this allows you to make a much more well-informed decision as to whether or not my content is beneficial for your consumption. 

So by predicting the narrative, you’re more likely to understand the real intention or motive behind the information that people, political groups, and businesses are putting out there. 

A simple thing you can do to predict the narrative is to ask the question “what’s the motive behind this… (post, article, tweet, policy, lecture, etc.)?”  Try to answer this question as best you can and oftentimes you will see through the politicians, the grifters, the snake oil salesmen, the narcissistic personalities, and anyone else who turns to manipulation for personal gain.

Once you make a habit of predicting the narrative, then you’re ready for the next tip which is to…

Selectively curate a small assortment of long-format media sources.  Emphasis on “long-format” because it gives you a more well informed picture. When someone is presenting information at length, you’re getting much more context that either supports the idea being presented, or presents inconsistencies that’ll cause you to doubt the validity of the information.

What’s more is that long-format content is more of a slow burn, so it doesn’t produce those addiction-forming dopamine spikes in rapid succession the same way that short-form content does.

If you’re doing all of the other things I talked about, minimizing news consumption, filtering social media, and predicting the narrative, then curating long-format media source becomes infinitely easier.  You’ve already done the work of vetting and filtering out media that’s likely to lead you down a path of internal chaos, so you’re left with an inflow of information that is conducive to a growth mindset, intentional living, and being in a healthy mental space which significantly improves your quality of life.

This is what lifestyle design is all about – making conscious decisions about how you live your life on a daily basis to optimize your short time here on earth... And if you’d like to continue this discussion then feel free to schedule a consultation with me so we can explore pathways for you to live more intentionally for better health and living.