What’s Popular Is Often Diversionary And Ineffective - Grasshopper

Do you remember the "Mood Ring"? It was a 1970s phenomenon: a ring with a stone that changed color based upon the temperature of the finger of the wearer. According to Wikipedia, most rings came with a color chart indicating the supposed mood of the wearer based upon the colors indicated on the ring.

We might give people a pass for buying one of these popular yet ineffective items. After all, it was the 70s.

 

But the question that we would be wise to ask is: What diversion am I buying into now that's popular but ineffective? Is it a modern day philosophy that only has theory as its base? Is it a new "wonder drug" that only gets people wondering? Is it a person who has caught our attention with their flash, but upon further inspection they don't have any substance behind their panache?

 

The list is endless. I was sitting in a waiting room the other day and was exposed to some mid-morning TV. Seems these shows are very popular but the manufactured energy of the hosts was mindless and was fracturing my psyche. The hosts are popular but the nourishment they're delivering is cotton candy.

 

We've been conditioned to the lowest common denominator as far as effectiveness goes and we treat what is popular as something important.

 

Effective contributes something to your life; popular, too often, is a diversion from your life.

 

Popular but ineffective is mostly escapism. Who needs a ring to tell their mood? Someone attempting to escape from their moods.

 

Life requires you to respond to it as it comes, otherwise it's like ignored laundry that piles up to the point where it's a mountain you don't want to climb. So maybe, instead, you escape to watch one of these shows. The laundry won't escape; it'll still be there needing your attention.

 

Your life needs your attention. That may not be a very popular suggestion, but it is effective.

 

Putting off what life has delivered will only have it pile up to the point that you feel you need to escape. Here's a not yet popular but effective suggestion: Do life's laundry everyday. Not only will you be more effective but you'll escape less and have more time to play.

 

All the best,

John