Entertainment Consumption Control

02/10/15

So, not too long ago, I considered the differences between present me and the me from Feburary of last year. I forgot one major thing: I was not reading reddit, perusing webcomics, frequenting blogs, nor watching much Youtube. At all.

I am currently doing all of those things. Perhaps overdoing it. So, let's try stopping again. Like, completely. Exactly how I am currently not drinking any soda or eating any candy (chocolate chips don't count, they're cooking ingridients... yes, even when I'm eating them from the bag).

Now, don't get me wrong, I think all of those things have their value, personal-growth-wise. I just think that where I am right now, and what's best for me right now, would be to stop doing those things for a while. Time to tend to the flames instead of gathering more wood to burn, so to speak.

....

Huh.

I think that's actually a really good metaphor for this, Stephan. Like, maybe the reason I stopped being so productive last year, after about three or four really good months, is because I burnt out. And I burnt out because I ran out of the fuel provided by exploring the various entertainment media that I had rejected. Also, you know, rejecting something that gives me legitimate joy and avenues of self-reflection that I find nowhere for so long has its own consequences, I'm sure.

Properly controlled rejection can be very powerful, I think, and I have a huge backlog of Internet action items tucked away in my browser bookmarks, anyhow. So I even have a plan for weaning myself off the dependency.

So, I'm quitting like I quit soda and candy. Unlike soda and candy, however, I have every intention of returning, and hopefully I'll figure out a more controlled consumption of these media when the time comes around, and a mindset that helps maintain that control. With my no-tolerance approach to soda and candy, I find pretending I'm physically intolerant of such things quite useful. That probably won't work when I allow partial consumption with mental consumption goods.

But the attitude should serve me well whilst I abstain for a while.