Information Diet
I am not a health expert, but I know you can't outrun a bad diet. No amount of exercise can make you healthy if all you eat is McDonalds. This is not to ignore exercise, but when it comes to physical health, it helps to know where the lead domino is. If you eat better, then you feel better, and you’re more likely to workout or even just go for a walk. Eating well sets off a chain reaction that makes life easier. And the reward for eating well is a “cheat day”. One day per week where you can eat ice cream, pizza, whatever you want with impunity. Because a 6:1 ratio of healthy meals to Happy Meals is a good place to be.
This got me thinking... Since the pandemic of 2020, an avalanche of information equal to a Happy Meal diet has poured into my brain. Not to mention an algorithm that always wants me to Super-Size it:
Click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll, click, scroll… Ad infinitum.
At least the stomach has a limited capacity and an evacuation plan. But the brain (or at least my brain) is a little more ornery. It knows how much is too much but it doesn’t seem to care. Plus, the powers that be have rigged the game to make us want what we know is bad for us — how twisted is that? And it becomes exponentially easier to manipulate us, the more we engage and consume.
RINSE. WASH. REPEAT.
This reminded me of an idea Tim Ferriss introduced called “Low-Information Diet”. The idea is to minimize your consumption of unnecessary information to quiet the mind and free up brainpower.
“Just as modern man consumes too many calories and calories of no nutritional value, information workers eat data both in excess and from the wrong sources.”
Tim was referring to business productivity, but this easily could apply to mental health. Moderating your intake of excess or information (calories) can reduce stress, quiet the mind, while encouraging mindfulness.
So here’s my plan: I’ll only consume “good” information from Monday to Saturday like books, films, conversation, etc. Sunday is cheat day, which means guilt free consumption of trash. Be it endless cat videos or apocalypse news. Odds are, I won't spend the whole day melting my brain, but if I do, I have a 6:1 ratio of healthy info-meals... The goal? A healthy brain that wants to think and create, not deteriorate.
I’ll be trying this for 30 days with a friend of mine. If you want to join, leave a comment below! I’ll send you some encouragement.
Sincerely,
Matt Cooper
