Becoming a deep person requires selective input, emphasizing wisdom and truth.
We’re awash in data and information. We’re spending a big fraction of our waking hours interacting with electronic screens. Chances are good that you’re enduring multiple firehoses of media negativity and confusion. The people generating this brew are savvy and intentional, but they’re not deep. They benefit at your expense when you’re confused, distracted, and undiscerning.
Nearly everyone reading this newsletter lives in a world of abundance. We have more food and stuff than we need, and more than is good for us. Self-control is a difficult-to-gain strength.
This is where we apply the discipline of fasting.
(Right now at least a few of my readers will agree with my friend Bob: “Ack! Can’t I just give money instead of fasting?”)
Fasting from food builds our self-control and tempers our physical appetites. Deep people develop and refine self-control. The ancients didn’t need to know about dopamine resets and autophagy to recognize the health benefits of fasting. Intermittent fasting is popular today to better manage our body weight. I consider that the side benefit of fasting, not the primary aim.
Fasting from news or social media will also help you break the addictive power of media. It’s frankly unpleasant at first, and you’ll need to ignore the little voice that says you’re missing out. After a short while you’ll have much more clarity. When you come back to media you’ll sense the difference between useful information and noise.
Fasting from easy abundance (automated tools, convenient foods for cooking, book summaries, Google searches instead of memorization, and dare I say ChatGPT essay writing) reinforces thinking. I could write at length about the dangers to individuals and societies when we don’t think. Thinking is hard work and necessary work for thriving. This kind of fasting also prepares us to be better craftsman and leaders, too. We intuitively know the superior value of hand-made, hand-written, and in-person, right?
