Do These 4 [Free] Things To Live a Calm Life in The Age of the Internet

Read time: 5 minutes

Hi friend,

Firstly, thank you so much for your comments and replies to my previous newsletter.

I was so, so amazed at the response. I didn’t expect the kindness I received so wholeheartedly.

I’m super grateful to you!

So I heard your responses about being okay about sometimes using my existing content, as most of you aren’t exposed to that because not everyone uses Medium. So I shall do that today.

I’m in Australia right now for a wedding + vacation. By the time you read this, I’ll probably be resting because the 3-day long Indian wedding starts on April 03 🕺🏻

And for the 15 days I’m away, I have scheduled:

• 9 Medium articles

• Weekly YouTube videos

• Side Hustle Saturdays newsletters

Now, let’s get started. I’ve written this because I feel our online behaviour is manipulating us in ways we don’t even realise.

Don’t let that happen. Calmness and scrolling can co-exist, when done rightly.

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A few days ago I unfollowed a young 20-something because they were putting such energy-depleting content on my LinkedIn feed.

For reference, I’m possessive about my information diet and mute/ block all that is negative or cluttered.

She was pulling others down, giving her take on why entry-level employees earning $350 a month (typical Indian market rate) shouldn’t buy Macbooks, and some other BS I don’t want to think for a few seconds to remember.

It was so sad.

You have to be really jealous and triggered to pull others down to portray your superiority. And of course, negativity always finds friends.

Sadly, we’ve all been victims of being triggered because the internet can do that to us.

Here are a few things that can help you live lighter in the age of the internet.

It’s scary because most of us won’t even realise when we’re reactive for no reason.

You Don’t Need to Win an Argument

What will you get out of it?

Maybe an ego orgasm, as I like to call it.

There is nothing you gain from winning an argument except the feeling of I am right. Which is a skewed perspective to chase.

Nobody is always right.

And you know what makes it worse? The internet.

Some people have way too much time and will continue arguing. They’ll throw in research to win an argument, get more people to take their side, and the game is endless.

But it's futile.

It eats your valuable time.

I know the temptation to respond and prove your point is real, but it's not worth the energy.

You Don’t Need to Have an Opinion on Everything

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you don’t have to have a take and share it with the entire world just because others are. You don’t have to share photos and aggressive opinions on

• the political propaganda

• why you think food choice X > Y

• tweet, don’t take real-life action, and call it ‘activism’

When I was an influencer on Instagram and had a decent following, we had a political movement in our country which led to lots of resistance by the citizens.

I didn’t share anything about it, and people called out influencers who aren’t using their voices.

I’m not politically informed enough, I stay away from it.

Moreover, I don’t think I need to share my opinion on everything that’s going on in the world. But social media makes you feel like you have to, because it's cool.

You Don’t Have to React When Triggered

That's the game.

They do it for you to react. And then they poke you again. Because there's no other way they can get your attention.

This was the one thing that made me grateful that I meditate and read because it helped me realise that my reaction is entirely in my control and affects me deeply.

I don’t have to react even when something triggers me.

It doesn’t matter.

You keep calm and ignore.

Social media platforms will put up content that triggers you and encourages you to take action.

• Discount code → you order

• A TikTok on hiding blemishes → you order concealer

• Anti a certain political figure → your decision changes

It's driving you to react and make decisions that aren’t entirely essential.

You Don’t Have to Prove Yourself

Because you don’t owe an explanation.

Somebody once kept commenting under my posts about how my cohort-based course doesn’t make sense to them and how they’re willing to teach that for free. They even left their email.

I saw their profile and they haven’t written a post online.

His thrill was

• pulling me down

• not apprehending why people would want to pay me

The bullying they use is a cover-up for their own insecurity. Yet it's easy for some of us to get triggered and run rounds of explanation and proving our credibility.

Nah, let it go.

You know who you are, random folks on the internet don’t deserve an explanation.

Last

It’s so easy to get annoyed and angry today because of the content we see. It’s how we slowly

• lose control of ourselves

• get into spirals that take us down

• feel indecisive and all over the place

It will waste your time and deplete your energy.

It gives you nothing in return.

Literally, it's the biggest waste that is out there right now. You don’t need to be a part of it.

Being aware of it is the first step so you can ignore it when you recognise these patterns. Yes, people on the internet will still spend days fighting.

But you’re not them.

You’re not here to fix the world.

You’re here to live a better life and be happy. Use your energy on what matters.