4 Tips to Help You Change Your Reality by Controlling Your Thoughts

We will now cite a quote that dates back 2,000 years, yet it is still relevant today: “Most of what is considered natural ways of entertainment is a waste of time, or a folly that takes advantage of people’s weaknesses.”

This is a saying by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. We do not believe that there is a better quotation that treats the things we give our attention to. We allow others to control us because we are too vulnerable to the temptations of the media. Of course, we don't mean here all media forms, but we don't think that their influence on our lives is spontaneous.

It is enough to take a look at social media platforms, news sites on the Internet, sites to watch shows, such as movies, series, etc., as well as smart phone applications. All of this leaves no doubt that we are clearly exploited.

Just keep an eye on these indicators. When you get a notification from Netflix that there's a new season for your favorite show, you'll likely stop whatever else you're doing and watch the new season in just a few days. When it's over, you'll likely see what's new on Prime Video, or you may watch some clips on YouTube.

Not everyone does this. Certainly some people have a desire to direct their attention themselves because if they don't it means one thing, that they are letting millions of people and companies control their attention instead of them. What happens when we allow others to control our attention is that we become random people, and we lose the ability to guide ourselves.

Tips to get more control over what you are focusing on:

First you have to be aware of how important these things are to you so that you can know what to pay your attention to.

Returning to Epictetus, we see that he explains his idea in some detail in his book "A Manual For Living". He says in one of his book's chapters: "If you do not choose your thoughts and the things that draw your attention by yourself, then someone else will, and their motives may not be noble.”

Now let's move on to practical tips to help you control your focus:

1. Turn off unnecessary notifications:

You can turn off notifications for each app on your smartphone, so you don't need to permanently put your phone in "Do Not Disturb" mode. The problem with "Do Not Disturb" mode is that it turns off all notifications. So, go into "Settings" then choose "Unnecessary apps" and turn off their notifications.

So, you can decide what you want to watch on your phone. For example, if you want to receive calls and text messages from your family members, friends, and perhaps your work team or people you work with, it is sufficient to stop notifications from applications that do not serve this purpose, so that you stay in touch. You can also keep notifications for your calendar and appointment reminder apps.

The point is to start using your phone consciously, and decide if you need to receive notifications from this or that app. Maybe you'll find that some of the breaking news apps don't interest you, or you may reduce your use of Facebook a lot. 

2. Do not use social media as a source of information:

Social media is filled with misinformation. Therefore, you should only use it for the purpose of communicating with others, not as a substitute for books, articles, and Wikipedia.

The problem is not with social media as a tool. The problem is that most people do not realize that they are affected by the content of these sites to the point of addiction and loss of control. Therefore, these sites should be used carefully. Despite their negatives, they are not bad at all. So, make sure you only use it for good purposes if you must. Don't worry about not using it all the time because you won't miss a thing. 

3. Focus on knowledge, not information:

Information is obtained through data, facts, and statements. As for knowledge, it is the application of information in a particular topic. For example, we say that the average performance of a hedge fund (a protective wallet) has been lower than the performance of the market over the past decade. This is information, and your use of this information to create an investment strategy is knowledge.

In fact, people acquire a lot of information and very little knowledge. The reason is that it is easy to obtain information, while acquiring knowledge takes time. For example, reading a book or taking a training course is a good investment of time, and it requires a serious decision because you think about how important what you are doing, and if it's worth the time. However, you don't think about it when you grab your phone and get random information. You just think of it as social media, or you tell yourself I'm going to watch this short video, or I'm going to read this post and so on. The problem is that you keep browsing for hours without realizing, and you end up consuming a lot of useless information. However, it is different from acquiring knowledge that you acquire consciously and for a specific purpose.

4. Choose what you read about your interests:

Choose a specific author or group of writers and follow them. That is, choose what is useful to you when you want to read a magazine or a newspaper, and the same applies for blogs. You must choose a specific writer for the topic that interests you, whose style or works you like. Thus, you avoid wasting time and distraction caused by random reading. It is worth noting that your admiration for a particular writer does not mean that you are convinced of everything they write, but you admire their style and point of view.

In all cases, be selective about the content you read, and ignore everything else. This may mean that you fall somehow in confirmation bias and miss some information. However, these problems remain within a limited frame if you are aware of them.

In conclusion:

It is essential that you control your focus because it affects your thoughts and behavior. The American philosopher, pioneer of modern psychology and founder of the pragmatic doctrine (one of the schools of philosophy) William James explained this idea by saying: “Ideas become a point of view, and a point of view becomes reality, so change your thoughts if you want to change your reality ".

To do this, you need two things. The first is awareness of the negative thoughts that revolve in your mind and controlling them through the practice of meditation, and similarly controlling the negative thoughts that come from the surrounding environment. This is easy if you reduce your exposure to external sources of information. This doesn't mean closing yourself off to the outside world. Just make sure that what interests you is worth the effort and time. If it doesn't enrich your life, simply ignore it.