The great gift of technology is that it breaks down boundaries. That’s also the curse of it. It’s gotten so people are addicted to interruptions.
The Internet is like a jar of M & Ms. There is something irresistible about an unopened message or your iPhone vibrating in your pocket. It is easy to be seduced by this bottomless jar of M&Ms.
If you’re curious how the Internet is shaping our brains then I highly recommend this funny 3-minute animated video, which is based on the work of Nicolas Carr, author of the excellent book The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains.
Humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish. Given that our attention span is the amount of concentrated time we can spend on a task without becoming distracted, having a strong one is really important for getting things done and achieving our goals.
Fortunately, if you’re feeling constantly distracted by the flow your email and notifications, you can use a practice such as meditation to rebuild the mental “muscle” of attention. This way you will be able to use the power of the Internet to create more and consume less.
Attention is the currency of the digital age. With a strong attention span, nearly anything can be focused on and achieved. That’s why I strongly believe that training your attention through meditation is crucial today.
