Entertainment Overload and Prioritization

Entertainment Overload and Prioritization

"There is no one busy in this world, it's always about priorities. You will always find time for the things you feel important." - Nishan Panwar.

Contents:

1.) Introduction

2.) Procrastination

3.) Gaming and Our Competitive Nature

4.) Goal Orientation

5.) Conclusion

1.) Introduction

We live in a generation where there exists an overabundance in entertainment. Mindless shows constantly played in televisions, unending downloadable games that inevitably become a priority, and social media that allows us to see the projection of how perfect our peers’ lives are. When in reality, nothing is actually what it seems compared to the reality of life. Rarely do we notice how it affects our lives daily, one day at a time. The next thing you know, a year has passed, and nothing was accomplished. We lie to ourselves believing that we have a lot of time. We can do this tomorrow. We can do that later. A little bit more of this, a little bit more of that, and then, we end up not having anything done. There are a multitude of platforms that allows a click to play a movie, drown our thoughts, our ideas, our natural need to be curious, and our natural need to compete and succeed. We, as men, have a nearly never ending supply of games that feed into our competitive nature. This is simply a formula taken advantage of by game developers and we fall for it, every single time. That being said, our need to succeed is replaced by instant gratification, winning an empty victory in a DOTA match, getting a 3 star in clash of clans, and winning PVP matches in MMO games among other things. It grants you a sudden feeling of success when there was nothing to conquer, a sense of achievement when nothing was really achieved. It’s easy to see once you are aware, but is it ever so enticing when unnoticed.

2.) Procrastination

While some remain stuck in the never ending loop of instant gratification provided by gaming, attention by social media, and countless empty entertainment from chickflicks and such, some of us has managed to become aware about our addiction. Even so, when it comes to the actual action towards something that will benefit our lives, such as going to gym, reading a book(or anything informational for that matter), managing your business(or profession to further your career), and even socializing in real life instead of online, we still come across with something called "Procrastination". What fuels procrastination? For some, it is the fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and sometimes, it's even the fear of breaking out of ones comfort zone itself. There are other reasons, boredom of a certain task, lack of interest, and just pure laziness among other things.

I, for one, am not immune to procrastinating. I suffer it every single day, but it has become more manageable as of late. How did I do this? I adapted the "No More Zero Days" philosophy in my life. It consists of four steps. The first step is to have, as what the title state, no more zero days. In the shortest form, it's simply to never let a day go by without doing at least one thing towards acheving your goal. One push up, read one page, write one sentence, do anything that will push you closer to your goal. And to quote the author of No More Zero Days "because one is not zero". The second step, Be grateful to the 3 you's. Your past self, present self, and your future self. Always be thankful to your past self for everything that he's done for your present self. As for your future self, treat him like your bestfriend that you would do literally any favor for his own well being. If you find your present self procrastinating, always think, I gotta do this for my best friend, future me. the third step, Forgiveness of your past self. If your past self has managed to fail you, that is perfectly okay. Do not berate yourself for something that you can no longer change. Instead, focus on your present self to do the right thing. You would be doing your bestfriend, your future self, a favor. Last step, exercise for your health and read for your mind (Full credits to ryans01. I am forever grateful from you having a great impact in my life).

To add more materials in regards to procrastination, there is a TED talk by Tim Urban in regards to procrastionation. I would highly suggest to add it in your to be watched list.

3.) Gaming and Our Competitive Nature

At one point in my life, when I didn't care about anything and I had, or thought at the time, enough time in the world to do anything, I was hooked into gaming. It goes really well with procrastination. This was singlehandedly the hardest thing I had to give up, along with the addiction I had with gaming in general. It was my top priority. Everything revolved around gaming. My work schedule, my school project, studies, and even socializing among other things. For me, it was DOTA and DOTA 2 in particular. For some, it could be WOW, GuildWars, Clash of Clans, anything. It's all the same. Once you're hooked, it will become your priority. While it's obviously not the case for the disciplined and the aware, it was, and still is for the majority of gamers out there. It's a pit of instant gratification and empty achievement.

Why did it get so addictive? The answer for me was simple. It fed off my competitive nature, and we, as men are naturally competitive. It gives us a sense of accomplishment when in reality, there was nothing there to accomplish and in the end, we are left with the empty feeling that we did. Once I had made myself aware of that I had managed to break off the addiction. I quit the game cold turkey. Luckily for me, my video-card broke around the same time which made the process much, much more easier. I never looked back since then. Now, I may seem to make it sound so easy, but it took me months, probably even years to make myself aware and break off the cycle of empty accomplishment that gaming provided me.

This is not to condemn gaming in general, because it is after all, still a form of entertainment. It's the addiction that gaming enables us to do is what I condemn.

4.) Goal Orientation

As part of our self improvement journey, we as men have the need to procure a goal, be it financial, physical, mental, social, or even all of them altogether. This is where prioritizing and time management kicks in. As long as you are not idle and procrastinating, you will achieve your goal, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. If you ever slip or screw up, always remember step 3 and forgive your past self.

Some of us can only dream of financial freedom and retiring at the age of 35, but believe me when I say that it's not really all that uncommon. You're 45 years old and you feel like it's already too late? It's not, it's never to late. Read a book about personal finance, learn how to budget, live within your means, and if you want to live above that, plan how you would live that lifestyle. You have a $30,000 dollar income and want to live a $200,00 lifestyle? Well, do something that would generate income equal to, if not more than that. Learn how to invest, build a business, create anything that will generate you passive income. Is it easy? Hell no. Is it doable? Of course. It's all a matter of what you truly prioritize in life. We live in a generation where almost anything could be self taught. If you're content and you feel happy living at $30,000 then more power to you. Life is not all about money.

As for physical goals, it varies with each individual and in essence we must never judge anyone for it(unless of course, your goal is to become a landwhale, but hey, to each his own). Some of us want's to look like Brad Pitt from Fightclub, Arnold from Terminator, Zyzz, or even Kai Greene. But in the end, all those desired physique requires 2 things to succeed.The motivation to start, and the self discipline to religiously go to the gym, prepare your meal and enough mental fortitude to simply just keep going. As the saying goes "Don't rely on motivation for anything. It is fleeting and unreliable. Discipline, however, is unyielding. Force yourself to follow through".

In contrast to physique, one must also engage in mental training. For what good is a fast and beautiful car without a skilled driver to operate it? It may sound simple to just say read a lot of books. But rarely is it ever that simple. In order to train the mind, you must not only read, but you must also learn how to absorb relevant and important information and filter out those that will do more harm than good. In addition to that, after absorbing these information, we must also learn to cultivate and practice said knowledge while applying and incorporating it into our principles and lifestyle.

And if your goal is to improve your social skills. I can only recommend one thing. Talk to everyone. It might be a bit hard if you consider yourself an introvert, but I am one to say that being an introvert is all in your head.

5.) Conclusion

Entertainment in itself is not evil. It's the addiction to entertainment that makes it detrimental to our lifestyle. It's perfectly okay to entertain yourself every once in a while, but to limit it as to not let it control your life. Never let it become a priority. As you go along, it would be best if you learn and understand discipline and apply it to yourself daily. When you have the developed the right mindset, find a goal, create a step by step plan to achieve that goal and act on it.

P.S. I would like to thank /u/ryans01 for No More Zero Days. It has been very inspirational and life changing.

To those interested, here is my website.