Modern monsters (Part 2)
Explore the last two in the list of five pressures modern life brings against us. Deal with them, or they'll deal with you!
In Part 1 we discussed three “modern monsters” that are out to get us. Well, yes and no. They’re not out to get us, they’re just modern pressures we need to know and understand to deal with them effectively. But they are out to get us, or at least it feels like it, because they’re relentless. You can read it here.
In this article, Part 2, we look at the final two monsters and sum up what it all means for living a life that truly matters.
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4. Financial pressure
Tied into consumerism in Part 1, is the effect busyness, weariness and consumerism can all have on your finances. With ever-increasing expectations of what you "need", a belief that things will only continue to get better, and the availability of easy credit and consumer debt, a common result of our modern lifestyle is financial pressure.
Someone has to pay for it all.
The bottom line is that no one likes the stress of financial pressure. Which is to say not having enough money to pay for expenses and purchases, and not having any savings or growing investments for the future.
Because of its very nature, this pathway will keep you trapped and stressed for a long time. The longer you chase unnecessary debt, the worse your life will become.
Addressing financial stress is both a big deal (because it has to do with emotions, mindsets and habits) and remarkably simple. Not easy, but simple.
If you're good with money, you'll get this. But for the rest of us, you simply must spend less than you earn. If you can't, you'll never become free. Control your money or it'll end up controlling you.
5. Digital distraction
Ding! What's that? Who liked my post? Ding! What did Kanye say? Ding! Awww, that's a cute cat video.
With our heads down, it's just too easy to ignore what's right in front of us. And who is right in front of us. Which, ironically, is what we want in the first place.
Digital distraction is now rampant in society and I don't think we'll ever go back to the way things were. It's just too tempting and appeals to our emotions in ways we're barely aware of.
Is it a problem? Well, yes I believe so. Here's why:
It seriously affects our presence. Kids in cars staring at devices rather than looking outside and learning about the world.
It seriously affects our relationships. At expensive restaurants, on so-called romantic dates, couples spend more time staring at phones than each other's eyes.
It creates a belief that we need to know everything. Whatever comes into our feed, we must see. Whatever notifications pop up, we need to read them. Whatever's the latest Youtube video or Reddit article or Instagram post, we just have to see it. You know what? I don't think we do. We simply do not need to know everything.
Now, don't get me wrong. I use digital devices of course for my life and work. They're great vehicles for keeping in touch with family and friends and for getting the word out and connecting with like minds.
But what I don't need is to look at my phone every 5 minutes or every time I walk past it on the bench. I don't need to know the millisecond an email comes into my inbox.
I mean, who's in control here? Me, or the device?
And by the way, when I see people driving their cars holding their smartphone and, would you believe, even scrolling!!!, while doing 50km/h or more, I get really angry. It's stupid, dangerous and sometimes fatal.
OK, I'll get off my horse now.
For those of us who want to consciously live a life that matters, better managing our attention and time is critical to making meaningful progress on what's important. And digital distraction is something that's growing rapidly. I believe it's something we need to keep a tight rein on.
Two things you can do:
Manage notifications - Get rid of apps you don't really need, turn off or minimise notifications - for example, stop getting notifications on your lock screen so you have to go into your phone to see the notification. Stop the constant attention-grabbing of your phone.
Be more present - When you're out at a cafe, meeting someone or just walking, leave the phone in your pocket. Do the very thing you're there to do. Be where you are fully. You'll notice more and so will your friend. It's better for respect and relationships.
Let's Recap
We've looked at five monsters of the modern lifestyle that affect our attention, time and energy, and the outcomes we can achieve in life.
1. Busyness
2. Weariness
3. Consumerism
4. Financial pressure
5. Digital distraction.
My own determination, and what I'm recommending to others, is that firstly, we learn to recognise them more quickly by literally noticing them and making a comment to ourselves like, "Aha! There's the consumer monster again." Or, "Hang on, hang on, I am far too busy here. What can I press pause on for a while?"
Unless we can see it, we can't manage it.
Secondly, take steps to minimise their effect and free up our time and energy by stopping what we don't want, deciding what we do, and then stopping, turning off, resigning from, saying no, or simplifying.
None of these is easy.
But as I once saw on the back of a bus:
"The path to easy first goes through hard."
The ideas in this article are covered in more depth in my book A Life That Matters. If you haven't already, you can get a FREE pdf copy to download. It's completely free because I just want to share the ideas freely and widely.
Download your free copy here.
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You're welcome.