Too Much Noise

Seeking value for ourselves in a distracted world

Vincent Vicari
2 min readDec 7, 2023
Winter Trees by V. Vicari

Knowing the value of time is a great lesson, usually learned too late in life. We get caught up in the noise of modern life, we forget that time is finite.

Although we all know the incessant scrolling, the push notifications, and the binge-watching sucks moments from our lives, we still do it.

But what if, for just ten minutes, we didn’t do any of that? What if we stopped for ten minutes from watching pointless, misinformed YouTube videos? What then would our days look like?

The noise others create attacks our sense of calm. We are bombarded with ideas and words that cause stress, confusion, and anxiety. What if we took this time to learn or focus on what truly matters to us as individuals?

Marcus Aurelius said in Meditations, “Casting, therefore, all other things aside, keep thyself to these few, and remember withal that no man properly can be said to live more than that which is now present, which is but a moment of time.”

So why not cast off the things that suck our time, our energy, our mental capacity to succeed? Replace those mindless moments with things of value that add to us. No rule requires us to scroll, to watch, to listen to others seeking attention.

We can simply seek our Ikagi and thrive.

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Vincent Vicari

Writing practical, no-fluff, leadership tips for mid-level managers, project managers, and team leaders. Publisher of The Mid-Level newsletter.