Today’s snippet is brought to you by this article from CGP Grey, Daredevil, and a long walk.
Daredevil is a blind hero. After being blinded in an accident as a child his other senses grew to sensational levels of sensitivity. He could no longer see but he could hear heartbeats from hundreds of feet away, know someone’s emotional state by the way they smelled, and could move through his environment as deftly on his non-sight senses as he ever could with vision. What initially seemed like a handicap promoted him to grow in new ways.
I’m looking for a little of my own Daredevil-ness. I’ve decided to “blind” myself from easy distraction by unfollowing everyone I used to follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I erased my RSS reader and moved Apple News to the back of a folder. I unsubscribed from every podcast I used to listen to. My hope is that the energy that used to go into these activities will be productively rerouted into other outlets, namely the creation of awesome stuff.
Drastic measures? Probably. Although, it feels like it’s necessary to take drastic measures if I want to make a drastic impact on the world. Working in a start-up and finishing a PhD at the same time isn’t something that can be considered doable under “business as usual.” It requires honesty with myself. If I want do what matters I can’t do it all.
Silly metaphor? Certainly. Hypocritical to follow nobody on social media when I want others to follow me? Yep. Do I feel like extremely uncomfortable that I’ll somehow miss something important? You bet.
After cleaning out all the accounts I mentioned above I went for a walk. I noticed and felt things that I haven’t in a long time. Parts of my brain that used to be preoccupied by the low din of constant connection started wandering to new places. My other “senses” (creativity, motivation, discipline, and diligence) started to feel more energized.
My powers won’t let me beat up bad guys or be awesome at martial arts, but they just might help me do something awesome in my own areas of interest. At the very least, it’s worth a shot, right?