Watching TV With The Sound Off
We Are What We Do
We spent a couple months running through ideas on thinking better (Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and Part Six).
Early in the series I shared Book Taleb’s advice on reducing noise.
Focus on headlines.
Watch TV with the sound off.
What started as advice for reducing noise, became an excellent filter for better decisions about people. From there, it became an helpful guide to how I live my own life.
Let me walk you through.
The premise goes as follows:
Our day to day world is mostly noise. So we need to simplify and reduce in-bound noise. This is where headlines and sound-off news programs come in.
But…
It’s not just the news that’s noisy. Noise is in everything around us: social media, traditional media, daily conversations, our thoughts…
How might we expand our filter? We turn the sound off, literally.
We do this by building a habit of looking to the actions and revealed preferences1 of our teachers, mentors and ourselves.
We do this with the sound off.
We don’t listen to what is being said.
We notice what is being done.
When I first started using this method, it was with respect to other people. It was a mix of protecting myself from fraud and a desire to catch other people out.
Over time, I saw the greatest benefits by applying to myself.2
Use my real name.
Use real photos.
Live an open life.
Notice what works in practice.3
Choose mentors who’ve repeatedly done what I seek to do.
Steer clear of people living a lifestyle I don’t want to emulate.
Dig deeper into feelings of anger and anxiety — seek to discover root causes.
What do the above have to do with turning the volume down on the TV?
We love stories, even more when they are accompanied by video. Knowing that I am highly susceptible to being influenced by sounds and pictures… I make an effort to look at what is being done.
I make my actions more salient. Training logs, weekly review notes, monthly cash review, quarterly strategic review, annual family review… my workflow contains systems so I notice the positive actions I am taking in my own life. 4
Note daily positive actions, as they are what drive exceptional long term progress.
A focus on individual action makes it easier to ignore the noise that surround us all. You will also find this habit makes it possible to forgive the small differences with people who are on the same side as you.
And, if you can’t forgive (yet) then you’ll have a habit of refocusing on what you do, and what you control (ie your own actions).
When the action doesn’t match the words… note the action.
Apply knowledge inwards. Jumping up and down calling others frauds and charlatans… feels like projecting.
As I noted in Awareness, we can never be free from something we oppose. Think carefully about the people, and issues, you stand against as a form of identity.
A more positive (and attractive) message is to be the change and focus on positive actions.
Sounds Good, Doesn’t Work is a favorite meme.
In the endurance space, our version is… The Optimal Plan Is Rarely Optimal. We need to recognize that everyone starts from zero.
Start with a low hurdle, do it daily.
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