Pay Attention to What’s Influencing You

By Joe Friszolowski

Have you ever been having a perfectly good day... and then you opened your phone?

Last week, we talked about respecting everyone—including ourselves. And part of respecting ourselves is paying attention to what we're allowing into our lives. Because whether we realize it or not, the things around us have a way of affecting what's happening inside us.

You know what I'm talking about.
Everything's fine.
You're having a good day.
Then you open Facebook or Instagram, see one post, and suddenly...
You're irritated.
Or worried.
Or comparing yourself to somebody.
Or hungry.
I mean, you weren't even thinking about food five minutes ago. Then somebody posts a picture of what they're eating, and now you're trying to figure out where you're going for lunch.
It happens that fast.
And I think it's worth paying attention to.

What's Getting In?

Every day, we're taking things in.
What we see. What we hear. The conversations we're part of. The people we're around. The things we watch. The things we scroll past.

Some of it is good. Some of it isn't. And some of it seems completely harmless.

But all of it has the ability to influence us.

We like to think, "That stuff doesn't affect me. I know what I think."
Maybe.
​
But pay attention this week.
Watch what happens inside of you when you're scrolling.

One post makes you smile. Another makes you angry. Another makes you want something you didn't want thirty seconds ago. Another makes you look at your own life differently.
​
That's influence.

“Pay attention to what's around you, because what's around you has a way of getting inside you.”

— Joe Friszolowski

​Not Everything Deserves Your Attention

This isn't me telling you social media is bad.
I use it too.
And there's a lot of good that comes through it.
Encouragement.
Connection.
Stories that inspire us.
People doing incredible things.
But there's plenty of other stuff too.
And if we're not paying attention, we can give all of it the same access to us.
I don't think we have to do that.
Just because something is in front of you doesn't mean it deserves your attention.
That's true online.
It's true in conversations.
It's true in relationships.
It's true just about everywhere.
Around Mercy Drops, we spend a lot of time thinking about the environments we create for people.
Do people feel welcomed?
Do they feel respected?
Do they feel seen?
Do they leave with more hope than they walked in with?
Environment matters.
And the environments we choose for ourselves matter too.

​Pay Attention Before You React

​I'm not going to tell you to delete every app on your phone.
That's not the Nugget.
I'm just asking you to notice.
What changes your mood?
What makes you angry?
What encourages you?
What makes you want to spend money?
What makes you compare?
What makes you want to go do something good?
What makes you lose an hour you didn't mean to lose?
Pay attention to it.
Because once you notice what's influencing you, you get to decide what you're going to do with it.

This Week's Challenge:
​This one's really simple.
Watch. Pay attention. Observe.
For the next few days, notice what's around you and what happens inside you because of it.
Don't judge yourself.
Don't overcomplicate it.
Just notice.
What's influencing you?
And is that influence helping you become the person you want to be?
You might be surprised by what you find.

Love you, guys.
We'll catch you next week.

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