In this day and age mankind is bombarded by information. Television networks, the music industry, the internet, and many other forms of media are all fighting for our attention, and to be honest its hard not to get caught up in all the media craze.

Walking down the street of the average American neighborhood you’ll see the glow of televisions through windows more often then you’ll see families spending time together outside. Even in public places like restaurants and parks you’ll often find eyes glued to phones. The distractions are everywhere, so how does one stay focused? Filter your life.

FIND YOUR FOCUS

What is your truth, your purpose? Do you know who you want to be and what you want to do? Well, if you don’t, then you have some soul searching to do. If you know your truth, great! If not, don’t freak out! Give yourself direction and choose something. If you discover the path you chose wasn’t meant for you, great! You are one step closer to your truth. It is better to have some direction in life then none at all.

Alright, so you have your purpose. Now for the filtering. We all have only so much attention to give, so give your attention to the things that bring you in line with your purpose.

If a person, place, activity, thought, etc, doesn’t contribute to the mindset or lifestyle that you desire, then filter it out of your life promptly. If it doesn’t contribute to making you the person you want to be, filter it out of your life immediately.

Observe your thoughts, actions, activities, and other aspects of your daily life and ask yourself if what you are giving your attention to is contributing to your growth. If it doesn’t contribute to your growth or to what you’re working towards, then its just a distraction or is contributing to your regression.

Just as you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with, you are the sum of the music you listen to, the thoughts you think, the books you read, and the video you watch. Everything you are exposed to influences you to a higher or lesser degree. The music you listen to, videos you watch, and other media you expose yourself to invoke certain emotional states and thought patterns. For this reason it is incredibly important to be strict with what you allow into your life.

HOW TO FILTER 

First you have to know what you’re about. What is your purpose? Who do you want to be? Anything that doesn’t align with those ideals should be filtered out, especially if it is in direct conflict with those ideals. However, sometimes the waters can become murky, and we need a bit of guidance to help us discern if something should be filtered out or not.

In times like this, or in general, I use the Touchstone of Positivity to help me filter my life. The Touchstone of Positivity is a question we can ask to aid in our discernment, and it goes like so:

Will this make me stronger, healthier, more powerful and competent, more wise and wealthy, and better?

When you hold things to the standard of the Touchstone of Positivity, you’ll be surprised as to how many things you’ve let sneak into your life that don’t contribute anything positive. In fact, it will help your discern what has been secretly keeping you stuck, robbing your energy, trapping you in negative thought patterns, and keeping you from becoming a better person.

Here are some examples of how I filtered my life:

Music: The technique that I use to filter my music might be extreme for some, nonetheless, it worked very well for me. I put my music on shuffle and start listening to songs as they come and ask myself if they meet the standard of the Touchstone of Positivity.

It was difficult because music has such a strong influence on the emotions, and sometimes I just like the way a song sounded without really paying much attention to the lyrics. What I found was that a lot of lyrics are degenerate, or encourage you to think in ways that inspired emotions that are low vibration like meloncholy, sadness, indifference, or anxiety.

I am a big fan of hip-hop, but realized that a lot of it promoted thought patterns of hate, indifference, degeneracy, self-indulgence, alcohol and drug use, promiscuity, and violence. All of which are in conflict with the type of person I want to be. Not of hip-hop is like that though, and hip-hop wasn’t the only genre that promoted such things either.

I started deleting songs. TONS of songs. If it failed to meet the standard, DELETED. If I became aware that a certain song did not support the mindset I want to maintain, DELETED. If I realized a song invoked negative emotions or thoughts, DELETED.

It felt like I was losing a lot, but I started paying attention to how I would feel after listening to the music I had left. I was energized and inspired. I didn’t really lose anything but what was holding me in negative thought patterns and negative emotions.

Food: This area of life was easier for me because I think its pretty obvious what is healthy and what is not. The most difficult part is staying away from harmful chemicals and processed foods because they are everywhere and in almost anything you can buy in the grocery store.

Everyone’s body is different. If you’re filtering the food you consume, do what works for you and eat what makes you feel good. Observe how you feel after eating and then decide whether or not you want to filter whatever it is you ate out of your diet or keep it.

People: I believe this is the hardest area to filter, but also one of the most vital. When you spend time with a person observe what kind of energy they contribute. Are they lifting you up, or bringing you down? Understand that you have one life to live and know that falling short of what you wanted in life because you chose to hang with the wrong crowd is really going to hurt because you don’t get time back. Especially when you realize that most people really don’t care about what you want. You have to be the one to care and push for what you want.

Think long-term. You invest time and energy into the people you allow in your life, so invest wisely. If you cannot filter someone out completely, like that one negative family member or coworker, then distance yourself as much as possible. You don’t have to be rude or forceful, but use whatever tactics you feel are necessary to filter negative people out of your life.

TV and social media: Social media, TV, and movies are all incredibly good at suggesting and influencing your thinking and emotions and for that reason, very dangerous if not used correctly. If you don’t believe these forms of media can be used for brainwashing, propaganda, or as a way to distract you from your own life, then you need to do some research and open your eyes. Don’t get me wrong though. Not all forms of media are bad; it all depends on how you use them.

Use media for educational purposes. Watch a documentary instead of binging on a show that doesn’t add anything to your life. If you really can’t find a better way to utilize your time then to stare at a screen, then watch a YouTube video about a subject that interests you. Unfollow accounts on Facebook or Instagram that don’t teach you something or inspire you to better yourself. Use media as a way to uplift your consciousness instead of as a distraction.

I personally got rid of all social media and the benefits to my mental health have been amazing. You won’t really understand what it feels like to unplug from all the nonsense and bullshit until you actually do it. I’m rarely anxious. I’m rarely in a bad mood, and it think a large part of that is because I’m not constantly feeding my mind with junk.

LET GO

Sounds like you’re giving up a lot, right? Don’t worry, all you’re really letting go of is energy that kept you from growing into a better you. If you cannot let go of something that you know you should filter out, then realize that whatever that may be has some form of control over you. Don’t let that worry you too much either. Keep on filtering and you will start to feel your energy grow and your vibration rise and over time it will become easier to filter out things you previously thought you couldn’t live without.

Remember: You only have one life to live, so fill it with that which empowers you and fuels your fire!

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