It’s about time I started a personal blog. Geez. It’s been on my to-do list forever.
Well, here goes nothing!
I don’t know if anyone is like me in this regard, but I can’t be the only one out there. I’m very easily obsessed.
Don’t get me wrong, I have my goals and ambitions at the forefront of my mind, and I don’t easily lose focus. However, in my leisure time I watch a YouTube videos from time to time to learn about random stuff. I watch anything from woodworking to fantasy/comic book lore, to firearms, to blacksmithing, and more random subjects not worth mentioning (no not cat videos…okay I watch those too). After I watch a video, I find myself watching every video the channel has and researching and obsessing over the subject for months. I get sucked into a black content hole. For example, I watched the trailer for the new Star Wars movie “The Force Awakens” then saw a video in the sidebar of someone explaining the history of some Jedi. …2 months later I had watched all 6 of the Star Wars movies and had ingested more information about George Lucas’ universe than any human should from books, blogs, and YouTube. I know what the lightsaber colors represent, no joke.
Being easily obsessed seems to be such a hazard because of the amazing access humans now have to information. The delivery of addictive content is flawless. No one watches just one episode on Netflix. People watch 2-6 episodes of the same TV show in one sitting according to Netflix. I think the trick to making use of an obsessive personality is to search for content that provides value as well as feeds you content hunger.
My Star Wars binge did not give me anything of actionable value. Scrolling down a Facebook feed or Pinterest for hours falls under the same umbrella. While I think there is value in entertainment for entertainment’s sake I think that it should be rationed, so you can unleash your obsession over something that gives back.
I recently have begun to binge on Tim Ferriss’ Podcasts, books and now his new content “The Tim Ferriss Experiment“. Tim’s content is all about deconstructing top performers and their excellence so that one can replicate their habits and practices. This particular flavor of content sent me down an obsessive self-improvement and the motivational rabbit hole. Tim’s content and the subsequent obsession has made a noticeable impact on my day to day happiness, creativity, and drive.
I think the mind is less like a muscle and more like a stomach. As the saying goes, ‘You are what you eat’. Feed your brain what you want to become, and mix in entertainment that pushes you towards your goals. There’s a fine balance between entertainment and value. I implore the reader to seek out this balance.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to stop being a nerd. I still think fiction books or reading for pleasure is very valuable. I’m just going to be sure to obsess over content that improves or teaches me in some way or another. Your brain does need to rest from time to time, just not as much as you think! I’ll save Star Wars for Cheat day 😉
May the Force be with you.
Ryan Watson 