“UNLEARN” your way to Productivity and Happiness

The year 2020 has left us startled with the Pandemic’s Mega entry in our lives just like one of a Scary Ghost in movies, the scenes are full of horror- the horror of house arrest, the horror of people stuck on roads milling away to their homes, the horror of people dying and depressing headlines, the horror of losing jobs and the horror of grief and grave uncertainty. The Pandemic is indeed scary in ways more than one. However, the silver lining that we forgot, in Mr. Amit Ray’s words is that “Our mind is a Flexible Mirror- we can adjust it to see a better world”.

In all the deluge and the dark clouds that hover on our heads today, we can umbrella ourselves in various ways to avoid being drenched, mentally at least. Yes, there is worry of uncertainty but let us just live it “for a little while”, blanch it but do not “deep fry the emotion” and consume the toxicity of it, Let us make efforts to come out of it.

In these tough times, the only antidote at hand is to UNLEARN. This article explores the three Unlearning Journeys you could undertake during COVID 19 to vibe high again.

1.      The Journey from FOMO to JOMO

2.      The Journey from Popcorn Brain to Practicing the Pause

3.      The Journey from Fast and Furious to Embrace Slowness

The Journey from FOMO to JOMO

The first month into the lockdown almost evaporated FOMO (anxiety and fear of missing out on fun others are doing) from people’s mind by locking away everyone into their homes (putting the world at the same pedestal). So the snapchats and instagram stories were no longer decorated with highlights of vacations, parties, get-togethers, meetings and celebrations that once made people, who missed being there, feel miserable about others having a great life and loath at their’ s for been dull and boring. However, Cut to the 40th day in lockdown- the famous FOMO was here again. This time in a new avatar- the Quarantine FOMO. It crept back in when people started posting screenshots of video calls and house parties. Some people are going through Productivity FOMO looking at posts from others about their cooking adventures, self-care sagas and de-cluttering and DIY’ing their spaces. Some are struggling with Knowledge FOMO induced by posts of others regarding achievement and participation in various online courses amping up their knowledge base, making others who miss out on it, feel lagged behind during the lockdown. SO in a nutshell- FOMO has found a permanent space in our brain.

What to do? The only way to deal with FOMO is to work on your brain, Train the Brain- to not derail!

Know that Social Media is Delusional. It is just like the filters it contains-Picture perfect moments. No one posts behind the scenes and shabby hair and makeup or a conversation gone wrong on social media. It is only 20% of mindful media and 80% of drab. So it leads mostly to consumption of Fake Plastic moments from people’s life. Limit the browsing time.

Stop paying much attention to others life and avoid social comparisons. You could just start with focusing on being grateful to one thing a day in your life. Know that if someone’s got through a great college or bagged a cool job, there must have been a mountain of hard work to get to that point and post the accomplishment. Be mindful.

Befriend You. Look inwards. Find your joy or create it. Try venturing into hobbies or learn new skills.

Cultivate Gratitude. Sowing seeds of Gratitude manifests flowers of happiness in one’s life. The simplest thing you can try is to look at small things around you, it could be as simple as being lucky to be served breakfast and not having to get up and cook it yourself. It could be as cliché’ d as having someone to root for your happiness or simply having a home with no disturbance during lockdown that facilitates productive work and meetings. Gratitude can be sprouted almost anywhere and in any situation in life, only if you wire yourself to pay attention to "Your inner and outer wealth" and thank it for choosing you. Once you do that, you won’t feel disturbed with other people’s peace and happiness because you are filling your cup with gratitude.

Turn the FOMO into JOMO (Joy of missing out, because you are trying to be busy feeding your soul)

Remember, if you don’t like something- Take away its only power: Your Attention

The Journey from Popcorn Brain to Practicing the Pause

Today’s age of hashtags, AI filters and Instagram stories, almost everybody has a bond with technology that is stronger than the glue of their relationships (pun intended). This unshakable bond with electronics and technology has led to something called a Popcorn brain in most people. Popcorn Brain is the cognitive impact of technology on the brain. Simply put, it is when the brain gets over stimulated to process a new piece of information popping at a fast pace. Too much time spent on electronic digital devices could lead to popcorn brain phenomenon. Covid 19, along with other devastations, has trapped us in the houses, snapped away leisure timeouts and forced us to pass time on media- a perfect recipe to popcorn brain. Along with the lighter side effects like eye strain, blurred vision, headaches etc., popcorn brain may lead to a more serious side effect- making people addicted to the fast pace of the digital world and leaving them disinterested in the slower pace and disintegrated to smaller pleasures of life. Short attention spans and expectation of instant gratification and fast paced newness brings in disappointment. If you are one of those, who browse the phone first thing in the morning and hug the laptop tight, last thing at night, it is a moment of big revelation for you- You have a Popcorn Brain. It is time to feed your brain with some fresh air and Pause.

Three ways to practice the pause:

1.      Set time lines- Try to keep first two hours in the morning and last two hours at night free from any digital interference. Instead include a morning and night ritual to rejuvenate and give a break to the system.

2.      Media Diet and Portion Control- Set maximum limit to browse media at a time, say morning social media time cannot exceed 30 minutes, etc. Only 3 chunks of such media consumption allowed in a day. Some plan that works balancing your personal life.

3.      No digital interference on meal times. This will ensure additional three, half hour breaks to the day. Note to self- Heavens do not fall if a mail is checked 15 minutes after its arrival.

4.      Instead of browsing and inducing meaningless stimulation to your brain, JUST CALL A FRIEND OR FAMILY and renew relationships for real.

 The Journey from Fast and Furious to Embrace Slowness

How about vacating to a sacred destination- the inner self. Few things to reset and reboot the life. Take frequent rest breaks during the day, work diligently but do not drench in the load, eat on time and small portions of all what fancies your taste buds, maintain a morning ritual, drink enough water, be present in the moment, accept mistakes made by you, forgive mistakes of others, bridge gaps in relationships by simply calling or messaging people, walk on the grass, make checklists to feel accomplished at the end of day, sleep with next day’s agenda in mind, wake up to clarity, soak in the morning sun, gaze at the night sky, read books and enjoy new perspectives, in short, do everything that keeps you uplifted and happy offline.

I would love to hear your views. Post your lockdown “self-savoring” experience in comments below.

XoXo