Infopower

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Water is essential to our lives and a great source of inspiration. However, we can drown in it. A dam focuses water in such a way that it actually creates energy. That is the concept of hydropower. Water and information are very similar; water is essential and inspirational, but you can drown in it. Dams produce hydropower, but how can you enjoy the energy of infopower? 

First off, stop trying to capture everything. Have you noticed how relatively small a dam is compared to the whole body of water that feeds into it? Accept that you cannot respond to everything. If you feel compelled to read the same amount of books, articles and blogs etc. as usual, that is still wonderful. There is no need to limit rainfall. However, if you want to experience energy instead of discouragement, understand that not all of the information you read/watch is going to pass through your system to create forward movement.

Lets discuss cooking. Six months ago all I ate were frozen meals that I bought at the store. Honestly I thought they were pretty tasty and LeanGourmet meals are only $1. Just thinking about cooking overwhelmed me. Every time I attempted to cook something, I took half an hour just to decide on the recipe. I’d struggle to find all the ingredients in the store. Once I was finally to the point of actually cooking, I nervously reviewed and re-reviewed the recipe, trying not to mess up. The recipes I chose usually were labeled "quick and I easy" but it never turned out right.  The whole ordeal took hours. No way was my subpar meal worth it; I kept buying the frozen meals.

Only once I gave up on saving all those recipes and trying ideas out of a cookbook did I gain momentum for cooking. I had to stop trying to utilize the whole river and just use what could fit within my filter. Recipes do inspire me; but I take the concept and leave the details. That way I can easily remember what to buy when I make my grocery list and honestly it is cheaper. For example, if a recipe involved chicken and pineapple plus other stuff. I’ll just get pineapple, cook the chicken with whatever spices or marinade I have available, add the pineapple and call it good. Could my meals improve by using the whole recipe? Yes, I’m sure. But I’d rather move forward with my makeshift meals than stay in frozen meal land. By using only the part of the recipe that I could retain, there was a positive energy created and forward progress made. 

My culinary filter is very small, but what about areas of my life that are more central to my purpose? The more time I'm willing to allocate to this purpose, the more information I will be able to process and act upon effectively. Therefore when you are moving toward a particular aspiration, your dam will be bigger and a larger load of information will be converted into positive energy. Perhaps you are at a place where you wish you could implement more and follow people's advice more closely. Give yourself grace. Imperfect progress is better than no progress. Allow yourself to let go of the details for which you are not ready. 

What is the actionable takeaway of this post? Stop taking action. You don't need to add another item on your to do list for having read this post.  Just reading with an open heart and allowing this concept to permeate your subconscious is enough. As you encounter the constant flow of information, you can trust your intuition as a filter to show you which details and concepts to put effort into retaining. There is no need to feel discouraged or inadequate if you cannot implement everything, no one can. 

Do you feel less overwhelmed now? Are there some bits of information that you plan to let go? Maybe this concept does not feel right to you. Either way, leave a comment below!