Questioning our own thoughts and actions is an extremely valuable exercise. But it is not something to be taken lightly. Posing one question is better than nothing, but seldom is it one and done. We’d do well to question our answers, to dig as far as we can so that we may arrive at the root cause. Then we can change our behaviour. It is an exercise that requires patience and introspection. And though we many may not arrive at the true answer for some time, as long as we have explored our own reasoning, we are well on our way. Often, the best place to start after answering a question is to ask why. From there we can start to see what is really going on.
As an example:
How am I feeling today?
I am tired.
Why?
Because I stayed up too late.
Why?
Because I was watching a TV show.
Why?
The show is just so good, I had to find out what happened next.
Why?
It is at this point, after asking why three times, that a new line of questioning opens up. Because it is no longer about why we are tired, but why are we watching a show beyond the time we should.
Why are you watching the show in the first place? Is it actually something you wanted to watch Oor were you mildly interested, so you started it and now you just want to find out how it ends? Is the time you’re watching the show a deliberate choice—”I watch a show at this time on this day”—or is watching TV the default once the sense of boredom sinks in? Is watching a show at this time really warranted, or are there better things you could be doing with my time?
These follow-up questions get to the motivating factors. And by asking them we can see the link between the choices we make in one aspect of our life affecting others. Of course, it is easy to identify the cause and effect between staying up late and being tired the next day—many of us will even address our future selves when we knowingly sabotage the next day with choices made in the evening—but that is not what’s important. What is important is figuring out why we’re engaging in those evening activities in the first place. For many, it is lack of intention.
The overarching theme of Cal Newport’s work is intentionality, and in Digital Minimalism he speaks directly to the intentional use of technology. The notion being that it isn’t necessarily bad to use streaming services or social media, so long as we use them with a purpose of our own choosing, not simply giving into the algorithm driven options presented by tech companies seeking to keep us using their product as much as possible. So if our intention is to unwind with a show at the end of a day after finishing all the things we set out to do, then that’s great, enjoy the show, then go to bed. But if technology—or some other vice—is a means of distracting us from the things we ought, or want to, be doing, then that is something else. And it is up to us to differentiate between what is serving us and what is hindering us.
We must question actions, and continue to do so until we arrive at an answer that we are satisfied with. Something that can get us to go to bed at a reasonable hour so that we can get up in the morning and get to that which really matters.
scott ironmonger 