This is the reason she doesn’t use
music in her teaching, because she wants us to focus on yoga.
During the whole day, I have been thinking if
I have guarded my sensory doors mindfully.
We live in a world of information overload.
I do not subscribe to printed newspapers. But every day I look at the New York Times,
Politico, Huff Post, World Journal (in Chinese) and sometimes South China
Morning Post.
In addition, I watch videos from Hong Kong
and Taiwan. During the past six months, I have been following the Hong Kong protests
and sometimes spent hours watching commentaries by different KOLs (key opinion
leaders). Watching the news often makes me upset, sad, and angry.
I have told my students many times about
the need to protect our brains and guard our time. In Crazy Busy, Dr. Edward Hallowell says that many of us are suffering
from ADT (Attention Deficit Trait). ADT are people who have difficulty staying
organized, setting priorities, and managing time. As a psychiatrist who has diagnosed
and treated thousands of people with ADD, he is seeing more and more people suffering
from ADT.
Our culture and modern life create the
environment for developing ADT. We watch TV, eat dinner, check our phone, and
talk to our children at the SAME TIME during dinner.
We boast we can multitask, but this may
affect our brain’s function. Dr. Hallowell writes, “as the human brain is asked
to process dizzying amount of data, its ability to solve problems flexibly and
creatively declines and the number of mistakes increases.”*
After I talked about Dr. Hallowell’s
research in a class, a student canceled several of her social media accounts
and said she needed to wean herself from spending so much time checking
messages.
I did not have her problems until two weeks
ago. My friends were amazed when I told them that I did not have a smartphone
till two years ago. I had only a flip phone. Since I sat in front of my
computer all the time, I didn’t need a smartphone to check and respond to
emails. I also did not want to be connected 24/7.
I finally decided to change to a smartphone because I found a phone plan that was even cheaper than my flip phone
plan. I went to Amazom.com and bought the cheapest one (on sale for $69).
I was not addicted to my phone and did not
carry it around every day. Sometimes I purposely left it at home, so that I would
not be connected all the time. The cheap phone worked for me, except it could
not take beautiful photos as iPhones or Samsung phones could.
During the Thanksgiving holidays, I decided
to buy a nicer phone because I need to take a few videos for a project.
So, I bought a top-of-the-line Samsung phone
that came out this year. And my problems began!
The screen is so nice and the images so
sharp. They appeal to the eyes.
I have always wondered why my friends can
respond to Facebook posts so fast. Now I know. My Facebook app shows the number
of likes, comments, etc. I have received. It is so tempting to check what my
friends have said.
The Outlook app and the Google mail app show
the number of new messages. The YouTube app shows the number of new videos I
have subscribed to. The apps in my old phone would not show these numbers.
Suddenly, I find myself checking my
beautiful phone all day—a practice I had proudly avoided until two weeks
ago.
As I am typing this, my phone sits right next
to the laptop, smiling at me.
How can I ever do or write something
seriously if I am checking my phone all day? I will be busy responding to
emails, checking Facebook likes, and looking at how many steps I have taken
today through another app.
Guard your sensory doors should be my inner
mantra from now on. Dr. Hallowell wrote CrazyBusy after he has written a very
popular article, “Why Smart People Underperform” in Harvard Business Review. At my age, I am not so concerned about
underperform or overperform. But I need to protect my brain and live a fuller
life. Not becoming a slave of a small device that I am attached or addicted to.
In this age when there are so many external
demands, close or limit some of the sensory doors may bring sanctity or inner
peace. At least a healthier brain, I hope.
p.s. I wrote this in 49 mins, including
checking Dr. Hallowell’s article. I could have done it faster if I didn’t check
the Facebook likes!
*Edward Hallowell, “Why Smart People
Underperform,” Harvard Business Review,
January 2005, 57.