Deep Focus Brain Massage - HITRECORD

Deep Focus Brain Massage

Nov 09, 2024

Have I felt like shit over this last week since the election? Yeah, I’ve gone in and out of feeling that way. And soon enough, I’ll want to write more about what’s going on with all that. But I think it’s worth it to take a moment first. Before diving back into the macro. Just a moment to give my brain a sort of massage, if you will. And I thought you folks reading this might enjoy doing that for yourself as well. So…

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What works for me is to focus really hard on something. Usually that means writing. Like I’m doing right now, which is no coincidence. Although more often than not, I’ll just write in my own private journal that I don’t share with anybody. It can also be other kinds of creative things, reading out loud, playing music, etc. Or, if I’m feeling a bit more low energy, it doesn’t even have to be so productive. It could be watching a movie, or listening to some music, or reading a book. But the key is to really, really focus on it. Not get distracted. Not move my attention from one thing to another and then another and back again. If I’m scattered like that, I don’t get the effect. If I can really keep my focus for a good long while, I usually come out the other end feeling better.

What I’m trying NOT to do is scroll through social media, news, or any other endless stream of bite sized “content”. Watching a 90-minute movie is not the same as watching 90 one-minute videos. The difference is the continuity of focus. When you’re scrolling, your focus changes constantly, every few seconds, or at most every minute or so. Getting that next little dopamine hit. Keeping one train of thought for a good long chunk of time takes more effort, but that challenge is what you want. It’s sort of like how a really good, healing massage will hurt a little bit.

“Now hold on,” you might say, “A lot of movies are dumb as shit. You’re saying even those movies are somehow better for my brain than scrolling social media?” It’s a fair question. And I’m not exactly trying to defend dumb movies, even though I’ve been in some, and I certainly enjoy watching one now and then. And I’m not saying dumb movies are good for your brain. But, I am saying that any movie, regardless of how smart or dumb it is, can be good for your brain, depending on how you choose to watch it.

There’s a difference between watching a movie actively vs passively. Watching a movie actively becomes its own creative process. You’re using every specific thing you observe to form a meta-narrative of your own about what the movie does to you and why. And believe it or not, you can actually do this either with an artful masterpiece or even with formulaic filler. (I should write a post just about this at some point.) Even with the lightest of fare, there’s a fascinatingly rich story you can choose to tell yourself about why you do or don’t find it enjoyable, or what memories are being invoked, or how the feelings you’re feeling fit into your personal psychology, or the world’s collective psychology at the time the movie was made, or right now, or, or, or…there’s any number of directions you can take it. And of course, as you get used to watching movies actively like this, you might also start really appreciating some of those artful masterpieces.

In any case, whether you’re watching a movie or making one of your own—or you’re playing a sport, cooking a meal, tending a garden, building a doghouse, singing a song, or whatever it is you love to do—stay focused. A lot of people find intense focus in spiritual practices, whether they’re praying or meditating or whatever else. Right now, I’m focused on writing this. The point is to dive deep. When you feel the urge to pick up your phone, don’t give in. Give yourself that good long moment. And I bet, when you’re done, you’ll feel a peaceful invigoration. And maybe even a step closer to a place where you’re ready to take on the outside world. Let me know how it goes..