What Are Your Inputs?

When we consume information it affects us. Whether it is TV, Movies, Music, Podcasts, or even conversations with people, it changes us. As such we cannot live intentionally without being aware of the changes. Like most things, the effects of these interactions can be good or bad, optimal or suboptimal. We need to see the changes for what they are and adjust our media and environment to best produce the life that we want.

Inputs Affect Your Inputs

Many times, I have been listening to a podcast or reading a blog and had another blog or podcast mentioned or recommended to me. Often they sounded interesting and I subsequently went on to start following that new stream. Friends have been the same way. I hang out with one friend and over time I become more connected to that friends broader circle of friends. This is great when the influences of these media sources and relationships are good, but when they are negative it can be a growing influence that drags you down. When you allow a thing in your life, it tends to grow.

Inputs Affect Your Outlook

The most obvious example of this is music. It has an amazing ability to shift and amplify my mood even in the short span of a single song. This is a powerful tool for being productive for some people.

More subtlety, but even more powerfully I believe, the absorption of concepts and ideas from books and movies and the like can profoundly change our long term outlook on the world and our place in it. They can broaden our worlds and open our eyes to the glory of the universe, or make us afraid to go outside.

Inputs Affect Your Output

We hold the keys in our hands to unlock our G-d given potential. To mold the themes that in turn mold us. We are programming ourselves through our media and interactions. What you consume drives what you produce. Take a critical look at your inputs and see if you can identify the results they bring about in your attitudes and actions. Do they inspire you to step out and act or do they pacify you and enable you to sit contentedly where you are?

What is the soundtrack for your life? Is it grand and epic? Or is it shallow and gaudy?