Random Weird Thoughts for modern world
Today let’s dive into some weird random thoughts to survive the modern world, so that we don’t go nuts for the wrong things, maybe.
- Your phone is for you to access the world. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are accessible to the world all the time.
You can pick when you want to be available—when you want to reply—even when you want to read the messages. You can choose to ignore calls and give a call back when you find time. Don’t make that a door for the world into you. This gives you freedom—to go to the gym without being worried somebody is calling. You can go for your walk without picking your phone. You can free yourself from the anxiety and curiosity of “What if someone calls?” or “What if someone messages?” Remember, phones are just a phenomenon of our century. I love mobile phones. But I also love the freedom I get with this mindset.*
- At any point in time, you are listening to some machine buzzing.
It can be your fan, or A/C, or fridge, or a bike racing on the road. We are so surrounded by these buzzes in the new world. It has become our tone of life. It helps sometimes to really go far away from a busy city to a village, where you literally see them disappear. And then you listen to other noises which you may have never noticed before.
- The new ones don’t necessarily kill the old.
AI will not kill thinking. Computers didn’t kill writing on paper. Digital books didn’t kill the paperbacks. Bikes didn’t kill the cycles. Ships still exist. But then when do things disappear? When the old one is bettered. Wireless headsets didn’t kill the wired ones. Always pick the one you like—because in most cases, you are picking an experience.
- A better same thing can kill the old one.
New MacBooks made the Macintosh disappear. The thin LCD screens made bulky screens disappear. New cars made the old Fords disappear. New paper made the old brownish pamphlets disappear.
- Every object you lay your eyes on triggers a thought and emotion chain in your brain.
It is an invisible chain. Sit in your room and just stare a couple of seconds at each different object around your room. If you observe, you can feel your brain firing—you can feel that emotion and those thoughts associated with it firing up. Now think about the visual clutter you are exposed to every year. Think about doom-scrolling, which puts your brain in a roller coaster of emotion and information fetching.
- The amalgam of emotions and urges triggered on your visual of mobile device can be very complex and mixed.
I heard it first from Simon Sinek and observed it was true. The moment your phone is on the table—be it during a conversation or some work you are doing—your brain is processing that visual of the phone, which fires the trigger to pick it up. Your phone has become the cue and trigger to enter a new world. You cannot imagine the associations of feelings and needs your brain has established with your phone. Get it out of your eyesight and see the difference. When you do some work, try keeping it in a different room or hidden from your eyes. You can feel the difference—an invisible urge you are continuously pulled into.
- You social awkwardness is stolen by your phone.
The phone has become the new saviour for us, saving us from social awkwardness. Any uncomfortable or boring moment, our hands travel to our pockets. Social awkwardness is a force that should be in action. Never forget. Awkwardness makes us talk and explore other human beings. I remember reading about a restaurant which had a small box in the middle of every table. If the diners kept their phones inside that, locked it, and gave the keys to the waiter, they could claim an additional 15% off.
Hope you find peace for all the days to come. Go Nuts!
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*My friend Arzoo was the one who gave me this idea.