How to Take Back Control of Your Surroundings and Gain Mental Clarity
Be careful and watch how and where you spend your time
Every day, you are impacted by the messages that you encounter in life. These ranges anywhere from your friends and family to the media you consume. Your surroundings tell you what to believe and how to act.You can’t do anything to change your friends, family, or school, but you can monitor the media and entertainment you ingest. You have to watch what you consume, the same way you may have to watch your diet if you want to stay healthy.
Whether you like it or not, everything nowadays is selling something.
Even if it’s not a physical product, it may be an ideology. Brands are popping up everywhere like a zit you just can’t get rid of.The media you consume is important because of this. You may not actively pay attention to what you’re watching, but they stick around in your subconscious, impacting your worldview.Everything expresses messages about life to you, especially the media and entertainment industries. Social media is one of the worst offenders.It can be tricky because everything is sensationalized and glorified. People like to show off the best of their lives, and it’s easy to get lost in the mix and end up feeling bad about yourself and your life. But you don’t have to feel that way.
You are influenced by your surroundings
On a daily basis, you are exposed to various different media. These include social media, books, TV shows, art, and video games. For the most part, you are the one who gets to choose what these things are. However, humans are susceptible and easy prey.The accounts you follow, the videos you watch all have a subconscious impact on you. Have you ever felt like crap after scrolling through social media?It’s because everyone is posting pretty pictures of their lives and vacations, but in reality, most of it has been photo-shopped. Those pretty pictures and videos aren’t real, but they’re fed to us like they are.
Your experiences and surroundings impact your worldview.
In the famous Bobo Doll study, Albert Bandura tested social learning theory. He presented children with a bobo doll and an adult would beat up the doll. The children would then mimic the adults and beat up the bobo doll.Bandura proposed the theory of observational learning, meaning we reflect behavior that we see in others.When you’re around your friends, it’s likely you will pick up on their traits and habits. You spend so much time with them, you start to emulate them.You all believe similar things. You adapt your beliefs based on your friends and how they act towards you and others.The media we consume is no different.
Some media conveys harmful messages. If you look at older TV shows, you can see the evident sexism and racism in their programs.And the subconscious narratives they play are important. In TV and movies, the characters tell you a story. And these stories always have a message to them.Teen shows today are so dramatic and sexy. When you’re fed dramatic narratives, you get used to it. You expect drama in your real life because you expect television to mirror your life. If there is no drama in your life, you may be inclined to create it.At the very least, you start to fantasize about having that kind of life.As well as television, violent video games are linked to more aggressive behaviors. The causality is unclear; whether the video games make people aggressive, or aggressive people seek out violent video games.Per observational learning, your actions and beliefs are impacted by the people you spend your time with and the media you consume.
Final ThoughtsAlthough it doesn’t always seem like it, you can choose the media you consume. It’s easy to kick back, turn off, and indulge in mindless activities. Unfortunately, mindlessness can lend itself to unattractive behaviors and beliefs.You can take back that power. You get to control the narrative you’re fed. You can intentionally choose what programming to watch and who to follow.Pay more attention to what the media around you is telling you. Is it harmful to your mental space? Is it something you feel comfortable consuming? Is what it’s saying true?You have to be careful about the content you consume. If it’s making you feel worse than better, that’s a sign to change what’s around you.Stay diligent about what you feed your brain. Pay attention to what you see and what you hear because your subconscious is picking up on all of it.
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