I could definitely go for a little less noise in the world.
And in my own head too.
Meditation has taught me that the signal-to-noise ratio of the human brain is pretty low. The brain continually churns out thoughts, many of questionable veracity, most of limited utility, and some full-on counterproductive (leading to anxiety, self-criticism, etc.).
Realizing this about my own brain has helped me better handle the noise of the world.
Love this! Do you have any methodologies for tuning out the noise and finding a better signal? For me, the more I tune out, the sharper my awareness becomes—until I start to feel disconnected from the pulse, at which point I return for a bit more.
Appreciate that! Oh man, good question. There are a few things I try to do:
1. Understand where the “noise” is coming from. Typically, this is advice or just general information. But especially with advice, I find it important to know the context from which the advice is being given. Ex: Say someone says you need to do “X,Y, and Z to be able to have ___ subscribers.” It is important to understand how they were able to get ____ subscribers and speak from that position. They could have operated in a very friendly timeframe to writing, where newsletters were hot and booming, that allowed them to see outsized returns and those same conditions no longer exist.
2. I only listen to the crowd if I want to be a part of the crowd. Very easy to find people very bearish on the stock market, but if I zoom out a bit and realize they are a part of a crowd that has shorted the market since its inception or the last 20 years, I may want to ignore what they say. On the flip, if I want to be a faster 5k runner and an Olympic Champion is giving reflections on his 5k training blocks, I might want to tune into that.
3. Social media is a good way to get caught up in the noise. I try to find people I really respect and follow them. It is very easy to get wrapped up but I think we all have decent signals on what is true and what isn’t. We know who we should be following and who not to be following because social media really tries to tap into our fears but we know where our beliefs lie.
4. I also try to realize my focus is scarce and I can’t be an expertise on everything. There could be some solid stuff out there, but there is only so much I can focus on. I try to go deep into stuff I like but not go too wide across the board. This helps me as the more expertise I gain, the better I become at finding the signal in a particular subset.
In my reflections, a lot of it is simply that, noise. Will it matter by the end of the week or even of the day? Having those internal dialogues help me. Anything you do that helps you be aware while also not disconnecting? Certainly, a hard balance and something that I can struggle with.
Thought-provoking read, Scantron.
I could definitely go for a little less noise in the world.
And in my own head too.
Meditation has taught me that the signal-to-noise ratio of the human brain is pretty low. The brain continually churns out thoughts, many of questionable veracity, most of limited utility, and some full-on counterproductive (leading to anxiety, self-criticism, etc.).
Realizing this about my own brain has helped me better handle the noise of the world.
The world belongs to the patient. - Great quote that puts emphasis on tuning in for signals on the long term.
Love this! Do you have any methodologies for tuning out the noise and finding a better signal? For me, the more I tune out, the sharper my awareness becomes—until I start to feel disconnected from the pulse, at which point I return for a bit more.
Appreciate that! Oh man, good question. There are a few things I try to do:
1. Understand where the “noise” is coming from. Typically, this is advice or just general information. But especially with advice, I find it important to know the context from which the advice is being given. Ex: Say someone says you need to do “X,Y, and Z to be able to have ___ subscribers.” It is important to understand how they were able to get ____ subscribers and speak from that position. They could have operated in a very friendly timeframe to writing, where newsletters were hot and booming, that allowed them to see outsized returns and those same conditions no longer exist.
2. I only listen to the crowd if I want to be a part of the crowd. Very easy to find people very bearish on the stock market, but if I zoom out a bit and realize they are a part of a crowd that has shorted the market since its inception or the last 20 years, I may want to ignore what they say. On the flip, if I want to be a faster 5k runner and an Olympic Champion is giving reflections on his 5k training blocks, I might want to tune into that.
3. Social media is a good way to get caught up in the noise. I try to find people I really respect and follow them. It is very easy to get wrapped up but I think we all have decent signals on what is true and what isn’t. We know who we should be following and who not to be following because social media really tries to tap into our fears but we know where our beliefs lie.
4. I also try to realize my focus is scarce and I can’t be an expertise on everything. There could be some solid stuff out there, but there is only so much I can focus on. I try to go deep into stuff I like but not go too wide across the board. This helps me as the more expertise I gain, the better I become at finding the signal in a particular subset.
In my reflections, a lot of it is simply that, noise. Will it matter by the end of the week or even of the day? Having those internal dialogues help me. Anything you do that helps you be aware while also not disconnecting? Certainly, a hard balance and something that I can struggle with.