From new book, "Getting to G.R.E.A.T.: 5-Step Strategy for Work and Life…Based on Science and Stories":

Think about it. How could our brain possibly keep conscious all of the information thrown at it by the eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin. These sense organs send about 11 million bits of information per second to the brain for processing, but the conscious mind handles only about 50 bits per second of it. This stunning gap between what is—and our severely limited conscious awareness of what is—should make us question how we think we know anything at all

The data on data is mind blowing. As reported in Forbes: 

• Every Second there are 40,000 google searches (3.5 billion per day), and that's only google.
• Every Minute we send 16 million texts, 156 million emails, and take 990,000 tinder swipes.
• Every Day we generate 2.5 quintillion data bytes, over 90% generated in last 2 years.

That was 2018, when predictions were that there would be 2.9 billion email users by 2019. Turned out to be 3.9 billion in 2019 and predicted to be 4.48 by 2024—unless of course emails get replaced by something else. That could happen, right? The way things are going, anything could happen, and it is not at all clear how much will be the same, how much will be different, and how many of us will hit the information wall at some point and just say "Enough."

Information Overload is Real. And it's bad for business, productivity, our relationships, and our health. But we are not all the same about how and how much information we can take in.

Data Differences

We are not all alike when it comes to how much information we want, need, or can tolerate. One psychiatry professor said this about people's responses to crisis in general, and life-threatening medical illness in particular: "The world is divided into 2 kinds of people: the ones who want to hear every possible detail, and the ones who just want to be told everything will be alright." 

A recent study found that 1/3 of respondents preferred not to be given available information on whether their bodies had suffered damage from stress. In that same study, ¼ of participants did not want to know if the friend they gave their favorite book to ever read the book. Moreover, the study found that data avoidance is widespread and that most folks have at least one area of life—health, money, what other people are thinking—where they prefer to be uninformed.

Ignorance Preferred

People may not want to know because knowing leads to feelings that people don't want to have to deal with. I can understand that. But the problem is…what if…what if being able to tolerate the information and corresponding feelings produced action that led to a better outcome than if we just stuck our head in the sand. 

It turns out that worrying within reason, strategic worrying let's say, tends to be associated with greater health and longevity. For example, worry about health concerns can lead to earlier detection of a condition that might have otherwise been missed. 

Therefore What?

So how do we know what to let in and what to block out. My answer to everything—kick it quickly upstairs to the brain's executive functions. Then ask "Is there something to be done here." If there is just do it and move on. (Power Breathing exercise to put the higher brain in charge on pulldown at https://madelaineweiss.com). Enjoy!