Every day you’re confronted with noise.
Not just the racket from the lawnmower outside your office window, but the “noise” of information that comes at you from multiple sources.
Shawn Achor, author of “Before Happiness,” says such noise is defined as “unusable, untimely, hypothetical or distracting” and he says research shows that cutting back on it can help relieve stress and make you feel more positive.
Achor explains that such noise forces you to use mental energy to pick out what’s valuable and reliable, as well as accurate – and it can be “exhausting.”
Research shows that between 1980 and 2008, the per capita time spent consuming information jumped 60% from 7.4 hours a day to 11.8 hours. To look at it another way, studies show that Americans consume 10,845 trillion words a day from television, print media, books and handwritten letters a day.
In experiments he conducted at companies like Facebook and Google, Achor says he had employees try for two weeks to cut their “noise” information intake by 5%. He says by cutting the amount of information you’re trying to cram into your brain, you free up more energy and resources to focus on important matters.
Achor offers several ways he has personally found that can cut the noise:
Once you’ve made some inroads in quieting the noise from the external sources, Achor urges that you try to limit the internal noise, as well.
He defines internal noise as negative thinking that manifests itself as fear, anxiety, self-doubt, pessimism or worry. Such negative thoughts, he stresses, can undermine everything else we do to have a more positive life.
He suggests a way to change your thinking is to post a sign next to your desk that represents positive energy. On that sign you should include these thoughts:
What are some ways you’ve found to reduce the “noise” in your life so that you’re more positive?