Ours is a society of scrolling dead. Corporate profit gimmicks disguise themselves as phones, coaxing us to crowd-crush through circular mazes of dopamine hits, leading to addiction. Programmers use data connections to bait us into the illusion of fate. We allow the dark internet to modify our souls’ cookies—our character, values, and motives.
In the vortex of all things fake, we cannot have life-sustaining, in-person lives. As a result, we can no longer distinguish between true and false. Images filtered to ghostly register in our brains as goals instead of cartoons. We believe that screen-scrolling isolation is, in fact, social. We tell ourselves that the resulting depression is philosophical introspection rather than addiction. Hooded by an algorithm, we march off the cliff’s edge of reality.
If we don’t intervene on behalf of our souls, the prime of our days will rapidly become the prime of our lives. How you spend the best hours of your day becomes your life’s meaning. Are you going to let technology addiction take that from you?
A tool taken from financial planning called “pay yourself first” can help. Paying yourself first means that you get the first piece of your paycheck pie. It ensures that you don’t have to cut pills in half when you’re 80 because you spend every dime as it comes in.
Consider applying this principle to the bank of time that is your life. Give the 4-5 hours a day when you have the best energy and concentration to yourself first. These are the hours you describe when you say, “I’m a morning person” or “I’m a late-night person.” Give that time to your treasured relationships – before TikTok. To your art – before Instagram. To the temple of your body – before YouTube. Doing so will redirect the riches of your attention back to yourself and what you care about in this life. If necessary, you can look at your friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s cousin’s pics with the other 10 hours of your day.
The feedback loop of meaning is between you and your soul. It is not between you and a video of a puppy befriending a giraffe. Paying yourself first signals to your soul that you are an active investor. In response, your soul compounds your returns through genuine connection, inspiration, and solutions.
We take part in creating our lives by creating. Give the prime hours of your day to your soul’s priorities. You will forge a legacy of profound significance guaranteed to outlive you.
Song accompaniment: My Computer, Cadence Weapon
Artwork: The Art of Seth
All Song Accompaniments Playlist – Spotify
All Song Accompaniments Playlist – Apple
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