When we think about something important to us, the mind is instantly crowded with information — facts, speculations, questions, concepts, memories, images, feelings….
Let’s call this pile of thought the data mass. How do we characteristically respond to a large data mass? Often, with a degree of anxiety. The nervous system is easily overwhelmed by volumes of information. Incidentally, I don’t believe this is peculiar to the so-called information age. I imagine a feeling of trepidation just stepping into the Library of Alexandria (3rd century BC).
Information anxiety has a deleterious effect on thinking. It causes the mind to contract. I observe three specific reactions to the data mass that have bad results:
- Arbitrary limitation: We simply screen off whole chunks of information to reduce the total volume. Needless to say, we risk excluding potentially valuable data.
- Premature organization: We quickly box it all up in familiar, ready-made categories. This kills one of the most valuable thinking tools we possess — the ability to form new categories out of the information before us.
- Premature prioritization: We start ranking everything before we’ve considered it, judging what matters more than what. Of course, these off-the-cuff priorities aren’t reliable.
How to prevent this impulsive, reactive response to the data mass? Simple answer: hit the pause button. Subtler answer: learn to be present with large volumes of information without reacting.
This is the skill I call “Hang Loose” and it’s a cornerstone of the Zoom Thinking process. Like every skill, it begins with intention and improves with practice. Over time, one learns to feel safe in the presence of unlimited information, just letting it be what it is. You’re hitting the mental pause button, and engaging in a kind of data-meditation. The other side of this pause (which can be quite brief in time) lies a far more intelligent and inclusive way to think things through.