Mr. Brown Blog

Q: Why does our society give so much attention to celebrities and socialites?

Mr.Brown:

Is it attention our society gives or is this just an evolution of a basic human instinct and craving? Do we somehow feel that even in these complex times we still have the simple desire to connect? Our human hierarchy of needs includes community. Could social media remind us of the village or the marketplace of the past?

The village and Clan are terms longed removed but society has tried to replace them. In the past lack of roads, resources, and transportation kept us together, communicating, and socially fulfilled.

With today's large vast societies, and good systems and resources, even the family unit is being dismantled. Intimacy, teamwork, and interaction are still valuable for a human. Social media can show us how we have become desperate to share, to know, and to grow with those around us.

Social Media is the new, and improved village, the marketplace, where we can share, trade, and exchange ideas and products.

Q: Why are there so many distractions in our society?

Mr. Brown:

What is a distraction? How complex the world must be. If a young person has a dream; folk will tell that person to stay focused and avoid distractions.

Let's start with staying focused, if this young person dreams of being a professional athlete then you would focus on your craft and improving your skill and knowledge level. This person's mental and physical ability would be important to cultivate and train. The person would want to learn knowledge of their sport and the position and strategies on how to play well. They would have to understand that the master has failed more times than the student has tried and to continue to chase progress when results are unsatisfactory.

As long as this person stays focused on those things, they would be on the way to achieving their goal.

That makes most other things a "distraction". But for our person with a dream, we want to stay away from dangerous distractions. Game night with the family may take time away from the goal but it is not as dangerous as other distractions. If I were the advisor to this person I would say that Drugs and alcohol, TV and Social Media, and Bad Associates, would be the most dangerous distractions.

The drugs and alcohol will slow his progress in fitness and mental strength. They can alter brain chemistry and render an individual incapable of making good choices.

TV and social media on top of wasting time can become rather alluring and attract individuals to spend copious amounts of time leaving the person with a dream little time to improve their craft.

Bad associations, can cause you to be in situations, environments, or altercations that cause you trouble just by being near that associate.

In conclusion, when it comes to distractions, the person must define a dream, otherwise, all things that can consume your time would be fine and dandy.

Once you define a goal or dream, get clear about which actions would get you on your way to achieving said goal or dream. After that be aware that most other options are distractions but identifying the most dangerous distractions and avoiding them will help make you successful.

Q: Why does everyone in our society seem to have high levels of "Anxiety"?

*intense, excessive, persistent worry and fear about everyday situations*

Mr. Brown

Let's bring back our young person from the previous post. Let's make him much older and much different. This person can still remember wanting to be an athlete but the desire has weakened under years of decision making.

The person ignored the warnings I gave in the previous post and began to engage in the three most dangerous distractions. His drug use changed his brain chemistry and now in the absence of substances, he worries because he feels unhappy, unsatisfied, and empty. His hours of television watching gave him an imaginary standard for how he should look, act, and behave to be loved and liked. These shows are fictional but he begins to judge himself based upon his inability to measure up to the pretend standard. He tries to make his hair and clothes perfect but that can't protect him from his feelings of not being good enough.

His time on social media gives him friends online, but the chatrooms can't fill his void of loneliness. Also, the pictures he posts don't get him enough likes for him to shed his insecurities.

By the time he graduates high school, he will have spent all his time worrying about his drug addiction and being afraid to be exposed for being himself.

If he keeps chasing he will continue to live in intense fear and worry. The only chance he has is to allow himself to be worthy of his love as he is not as he wishes to be.