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Recently I posted a meme on social media that said, “Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe Its 5 Different Apps And A Filter.” In this Instagram World we can all relate. There is so much discussion around social media and our overly filtered world but honestly, filters can be good.
Let’s start with our mouth. Have you heard the following phrases? “She always tells it like it is.” “He has no filter.” “It pops into my brain, I just have to say it.” “That family is always so blunt.” Sometimes we celebrate the no filter folks but often we grab a phrase like this to help explain someone after we notice a bystander has hurt feelings. Sometimes the no filter folks are brain to voice for humor and sometimes that’s okay, but is it worth hurting someone’s feelings? Keep in mind, I’m not talking about being direct. People who are beautifully direct are succinct and have thought through a response to have an impact. Especially people who are humorous.
Here’s why it matters. It is estimated that the human mind has 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts per day. Some experts say that’s too high, it’s only 50,000 thoughts per day. Funny right? Even at 50,000, how many of those thoughts do you suppose are bullsh*t? How many do you suppose are unhelpful? How many of your 2,000 to 3,000 thoughts per hour might change even a few hours later? Any chance you think filtering these thoughts could be helpful? I promise you, that person you admire for their direct, concise, and to the point communication is not blurting out random thoughts. Believe you me, they are filtering.
And why on earth do you think anyone would want to hear one of your umpteen thousandth bullsh*t thoughts when they have their own fair share of umpteen thousand thoughts swirling around their own brain. I’m hoping this makes a case for slowing down your thinking, maybe meditating, or trying some EFT Tapping to reduce the mind clutter.
Let’s move over to image just for a second. Yes, we have taken image consciousness to a steroid level. People are injecting poison into their faces for goodness sake. No judgement, Botox away. But you know what I mean. Then you also have beautiful souls who are refusing to be in pictures or standing in the back of a family shot trying to hide everything but half their nose and their less squinty eye. You know you all have one eye that is squinter than the other. And that is the point, we all have image issues that pick on our psyche. Hence the 60,000 to 80,000 mostly bullsh*t thoughts we have each day. Is there a filter or 2 that you can embrace that will have you occasionally cuddling your kids for a great picture, whether you share it publicly or not? I have very few photos of my grandmother and I’m not happy about that. Maybe if I could have gotten her in front of a fun Snapchat filter, I might have a few more.
How can you learn to embrace filters more? I’m doing it by attempting to add a good habit. I’m working on listening better. Hence, attempting to keep my mouth shut to increase filtering. I also love me some good lighting.