You have a monkey mind and so does your sister. And your boss. And your neighbor. All of you. Monkey minds.
But don’t feel bad. You can’t help it. It’s human nature. Our minds naturally flit from one thing to another, often for no apparent reason. This effect has been compared by wise individuals to an ape hopping from branch to branch. They call it the monkey mind.Mental quickness is a good thing. It allows us to turn our attention to threats or emergencies in a split second. But the monkey mind means also that we’re as alive to distraction as we are to danger.
At this point in our history, the distraction is more of a problem than the danger. (How many hours did you spend cruising FB and Twitter today?) I think it’s worth acquiring the skills to manage the monkey mind. It can be done.
Are you still with me?
Ken Carroll
Ken – you’re right that people need to learn to “manage the monkey mind” but most people have no idea where to start in acquiring those skills. You might take a look at my book “Bit Literacy,” which I wrote back in 2007 because I felt distraction was too draining on people even back then!
If you have an iPad or iPhone, the book is free in the iBookstore – just search for the title. Or see http://bitliteracy.com.
Keep up the good work – -m
Thanks, Mark. I’ve just had a look excellent stuff.
I’m very big on the idea that people need far more mental preapration for leadership and just generally for facing some of the unprecedented challenges we face these days. Distraction is certainly one of them. As Im work with olrofessionals I see that very few (if any) of them, know even basic mental strategies.
Ken