It’s Time for a Scrolling Detox

First le préambule

We`ve all done it, thousands maybe even ten of thousands of times since the smart phone came out. You know what i`m talking about, that thing we do where we hold our phone in one hand and use our thumb to scroll through endlessly into the never ending world wide web black hole of useless information.

Searching to satisfy our addiction of instant gratification. You do it, I do it, my kids do it and if the dog could he`d do it to.

We`re all running around in circles and the only thing we’re accomplishing when scrolling is temporarily tricking the brain with a quick fix sense of validation. #fail

You might think that you`re moving forward but you know and I know that we`re spinning our wheels. What I like to call `Going nowhere Fast` yet we return again and again, as always, to that dopamine machine known as the newsfeed vision of a perfect Shangri-La.

These days I compare this superficial action of validation to my two young boys new hybrid addiction which is a combination of Facebook slash Fortnite.

If you don`t know what Fortnite is well you probably don`t have kids. Just google it and you`ll find instantly a boat load of useless $/!t about the online game. Even on this front i`m no saint, i`m a recovering Clash of Clans alcoholic. *Psss you should see my village it`s the bomb man!. Ok enough of that, let`s get to the point in case.

The scrolling or winning at Fortnite action satisfies us until the next urge to see, be seen and get heard. Similar to the scrolling we just touched on, it also tricks the mind in believing that this action has a real life purpose but it does the exact opposite.

Scrolling is similar to Fortnite and most video games in that it`s good at showing superficial success. It’s bad at showing real life challenges. It gives us a false sense of accomplishment.

Real life is much more complicated and bring various mixtures of ups and downs and must be evaluated and determined upon as we go, based on our current state of mind and values. Inspired by our insecurities scrolling short-circuits our ability to properly handle or deal with all of this.

Over time it becomes a vacuum and sucks the life right out of our thinking. Bit by bit, day by day our uniqueness fades away and we start becoming like walking zombies. I would even go as far as saying that it does irrevocable damage to our chances of future success simply because it eats up the majority of our spare time out of already busy lifestyles.

Time is ___________$ we heard this, we know this so why are we spending so much TIME on this crap. We`re addicted, no ifs, and, or buts.

If we use social media to attract a crowd, we will, at some level, become a fictional character. Reality shows aren’t about reality — they’re shows. Unfortunately, as we’ve turned our lives into a reality show, more people seem happier emphasizing their mess. -Seth Godin

Think about this for a second. If you`re doing what 99% of people are doing what are your chances of success. I`m not mathematician but I would bet the farm they`re closer to zero than 100%.

So now that we`ve determined that we`re all guilty of wasting precious time scrolling on bookFace or Insta to take notice that Anne is drinking a revolutionary potent detox drink in her Lululemon active lifestyle suit when really what Anne is doing behind the scenes is messing up the squeaky clean white porcelain bowl all the while validating her post with the number of likes in real time. Props to Anne because she`s probably being paid to post stuff endorsing products from her sponsors. In that sense she`s smart we`re stupid. You see where i`m going with this?

Let’s get to the meat and potatoes.

Hey, I will be the first to admit that I constantly crave for that online validation, it`s human nature to want to be heard but what I`ve learned over time is that you can feed the beast and receive ten times the value if you do one thing differently.

So what can we do to transfer that focus into something that will actually bring value. To reverse this trend let`s figure out why we get caught in this whirlwind in the first place. Generally speaking, people are curious creatures of habit and want to see, be seen and be heard, therefore the addiction to scroll is the path of least resistance to feed those 3 cravings. It requires next to no energy or effort and it gives the impression temporally that we are in the know.

Trade Scrolling for Following. Not any kind of following, it`s following with a PURPOSE and actually applying what you’ve learned into concrete real life tangible projects.

But wait it`s not as easy it sounds. Nothing good in life ever comes easy.

Scrolling vs Following with a purpose is like

Shallow vs. Deep

Easy vs. Hard

Superficial vs. Real tangible value

Step 1: First find your purpose

It could be a purpose to improve you physical stamina and overall well being, it could be a purpose to improve your business acumen or entrepreneurship, it could be a purpose of living your dream to one day buy and own your dream home. It could be a combination of all of the above. Personally I like a bit a variation. Knowing your purpose carries no power if you don’t know what to do next. The only way to realize your purpose is to build an optimized daily routine and use it as a weapon against your scrolling and win the day.

Step 2: Follow the leaders with an s

Each morning begins with a visit to your top tier team to follow to see what they are up to who they are talking to and what can I do to extract some of that good stuff to bring me value all through the day. You will learn how to cultivate discipline from your following team which helps brings clarity to all things. You will be shown how to access your greatest superpower: real life tangible ACTION. You will learn from your following team experiences on how to be effective in going for your daily win

Think of it as a commitment to get strong in the places where you are weak, becoming great in places where you’re good, and shine a light on the stuff we need take a look at. The deep stuff not the shallow bullshit.

By following leaders, reading their books, viewing their interviews on Youtube and educating yourself on what they did to succeed is ten times more valuable — you will never get that from an Instagram perfect picture because you can’t take a picture of success. It’s a process you build each day. And that building process begins the day you realize that real life isn’t about accumulating more likes, but rather focusing on your life purpose.

Here’s a few of my favourite people to follow with a purpose. Each of them has a specific role in helping to nurture by daily win.

A few obvious choices

• Richard Branson: I read all his books, blogs and watch his interviews for entrepreneurial skills
• Gary Vee: I religiously watch his video blogs to get pumped on getting shit done. It’s a straight up put in the time, work your butt off and you will eventually make it.
• Casey Neistat: He’s the person to go to when i’m in search of originality, uniqueness, creativity. He’s fun to watch and very inspiring

A few less obvious choices, here’s where it get’s interesting

• Seth Godin: This person’s a big thinker and he’s the person I go to really think differently and questions myself and what I do.
• Aubrey Marcus: For when i’m felling down and need to boost the mind with positive thoughts. He’s not very well known to general public but he’s got a very soothing and calmness to how to approach each day. He’s actually the one who inspired me to win each day.

A few dark horses choices, for the bad boy in you

• Grant Cardone: This guy is loud and honestly I don’t really care much for his personality but he’s really good at one thing. Real Estate Investing. Further he interviews a variety of very successful entrepreneur that I learned a lot from and made me start to dig even more on how to win every day.
• Lance Armstrong : Hold on before you start bashing my favourite cheating dark horse. We all know the Lance Armstrong saga but the reason I follow lance is more for his very unique talent to interview athletes on his podcast.
• Joe Rogan: Need I say more, He’s the king of no bullshit interviews. Rogan has all the communication skills to get what we came looking for straight from the horses mouth.

It`s time to turn the page and it wouldn’t hurt to turn those dopamine trigger sound notifications OFF on your smart phone.

I’m under no illusion that most people will never switch from scrolling to following with a purpose. Most people don’t become entrepreneurs or big thinkers.

Looking back, I probably could have built a 4th company with all the time I wasted surfing the web with no clue what I was looking or searching for. It hurt the first time I admitted that to myself. But it’s true.

Simon Storm Frigon

Third Generation Design Rebuild Craftsman | CEO @ cdrg+RedTeam | Rebuilding Environments by Design #Rebuild4Life

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