I have reached that stage of my life when I want to simplify things as much as possible. To get done the really important stuff. Also, having read way too much literature on the philosophy of Buddhism, some of it is having an impact on the way I think and on the way I perceive life around me. I start to think more before acting. I try to consider the implications of my actions, and the effect that I want. Maybe it’s just that I am finally maturing enough, getting out of that teenage mindset :) I adore minimalism, and the way of the minimal path forward through life. I hate distractions, and I try to minimize them as much as I can. I focus, and hate it when I have to get out of my zone.
Another change I noticed is that I started caring deeply about finishing stuff. Projects that I wanted to do for a LONG time, I prioritize, and then do one by one. Obviously longer ones take a lot of effort, energy, and resources to complete. But if I really believe in the end result, I stick to it. Visualization helps. I must understand what the future will bring, and have a clear vision of what I want to achieve. Otherwise, I might abandon the project halfway through, like with many things in the past. Having a feeling of accomplishment is a key factor of what makes me feel happy, and what drives me forward. Putting a check mark for having done a very complex task, is much more rewarding.
Today I considered the question of digital data, and what to do with it. In our age - it’s becoming a real problem to manage your own data. There is just too much of it. Especially if you are online all the time, and interact with other people online all the time. Photos, videos, movies, books, songs, documents, application, projects, etc. etc. It amounts to terabytes and terabytes of data. Now there are 3 things you can do with data. You can collect the data, storing it on hard drives, and lugging the large pile of disks with you wherever you go. You can opt in for cloud storage, and pay each month a fee (which will be ever-growing). Or you can simply not care - data comes, data goes.
With the last approach, you may choose to publish some of it in the open. Stuff that you really care about, stuff that you want to have an impact on others. Also, the most critical pieces of data you work with at the moment, you have in your current PC/laptop. The idea is that you minimize the impact of data on your life.
In my opinion, there are two main things to consider regarding the impact data can have on your life.
One, if you really do preserve terabytes and terabytes of data, you get attached to it, to the point where you are afraid/reluctant to let it go. With time, disks tend to break down, and cloud companies tend to go out of business. Backing up and migrating terabytes of data is a nightmare. Believe me. So if at some point you loose a good portion of your data, it could turn into an emotional train wreck. Also, consider all the money you will have spent up to that point on data upkeep. All wasted. Not something I want to deal with.
Two, this is really a big problem for humanity. With the current tools, it’s unmanageable. Data growth rates are beyond control of a single individual. The future is bound to introduce some breakthrough into the way we manage data. Until then, simply let it flow through your devices. Don’t get attached to it. Attachment is bad. You care about the experience, the memories. Not digital bits and bytes. Those are readily available, and will be in the future. The freedom for data is a human right, and there will be large conflicts in the future if someone will try to handicap that freedom.