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Finding the moment’s pause between OMG and SHARE.
I’m a stuck record when it comes to the critical need we have for practices of intentional silence, but here is one (more) important reason why. 10.06.24
Picture this scenario. It shouldn’t be difficult, because it probably happens to you multiple times a day, especially if you’re on social media:
You see or hear some hot take from your informational ecosystem — a blaring headline, a breathless news anchor or AM radio host or influencer, a doomsday article, a snarky meme — and you feel a surge of emotion. A hit of dopamine or rage or defensiveness or schadenfreude. And your first thought is something like:
“I KNEW it. I KNEW those @#$!%#& [group you hate] would do this. I KNEW they were [negative adjective] who were just out to screw over [group you like/tribe you associate with].”
Feel familiar? If you’re honest, it probably does—and it should actually raise multiple and immediate red flags. 🚩🚩🚩
Why? Because it’s a sure sign you’re being manipulated.
A regular practice of intentional silence teaches us a few key things:
- Our highly emotional reactions are rarely accurate — we’re responding to our story about the thing, not the thing itself
- We are actually very different from our…
