We are swimming in junk – be it the greasy food from Swiggy, mindless scrolling on the phone, or binge-watching Netflix.
And it is not even that we enjoy it. I haven’t seen anyone who says, “Yay! I spent 6 hrs scrolling on Instagram.” No, they hate their life. But they still do it.
So how can we rid our life of this junk?
Let me start by sharing this recent experience of mine. A few weeks ago, after Diwali, my refrigerator was loaded with sweets. And invariably, after meals, I would grab a ‘rasagulla’ or some sugary poison like that.
I wasn’t too happy but when your fridge is loaded with sweets, it is hard to stop. So one day, I did something very simple – after my lunch, instead of having a ‘rasagulla’, I grabbed a custard apple (‘sitaphal’). And once my sugar craving was satisfied, I walked away happily. No struggle, no fighting my inner soul.
That brings me to a core principle I want to propose: Everything displaces something.
So instead of fighting the bad stuff, just displace it with good.
The more time you spend with friends who uplift you, the less you hang out with the destructive ones. The more fruits you eat, the less ice cream you consume. The more good books you read, the less time you have for low-quality drivel on social platforms. (I write on LinkedIn and the irony is not lost on me!)
To further test this idea, I asked myself – how can I cut down on the crap I read? Simple – I started reading The New York Times online edition and found some lovely long-form articles. I can tell you – it was such a relief from reading the crap on internet. (Unfortunately, my subscription got canceled since Indian credit cards don’t seem to be working).
So whenever you want to get rid of junk, fill your life with quality. Keep enough fruits stocked in your fridge. Make friends who are positive and supportive. Watch good movies. Listen to great music.
And this principle applies even to our life in general. When you pick up an ambitious goal, you ignore your annoying neighbor or the minor pinpricks of life. Big things dominate the petty stuff.
We have limited time, limited attention, limited hunger, and thankfully, limited money. Displace the junk with good ones. Have big goals. Pursue your big dreams.
Don’t default to what your cravings want you to do.
If we want our life to be exceptional, our actions also have to be exceptional. Choose well. Displace the crap with good stuff.
Thank you for reading this.
Rajan