The Fine Art of Ignoring

"Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace."

-- Robert J. Sawyer

What can you afford to ignore? Damn near everything! You can ignore Brittney's latest shenanigans, you can ignore the weather in Barrow, Alaska (unless you live there), you can ignore televangelists, advertisements, and the latest so-called reality TV show. You can ignore 99% of what's going on in the world and still do just fine. Actually, finer than you're doing now.

First of all, by practicing the fine art of ignoring, you are not stimulating your emotions by focusing on things over which you have no control or influence. You're no longer getting upset by the sluts on the Maury Povich Show, or worrying about the size of Oprah's ass. If you really enjoy getting upset, I'm sure there's plenty in your own life that you can fuss and fume about, but I wouldn't recommend it. What you think about expands, and who in their right mind wants to make their "problems" more expansive?

Secondly, when you withdraw your attention from what doesn't matter, you can refocus it on what does. Your effectiveness in your own life increases when you are ignoring things that are not an integral part of it. You can solve real problems more quickly, prevent new ones from arising, and, most importantly, pour your energy into the people you love and the activities you enjoy.

Inner peace is based on finding the fine balance between controlling, influencing and letting go. The only thing you can really control in life is you -- your actions, your thoughts, your emotions. You can influence some of the people and events in your life, but only some of them. You can let go of everything else. Sure, it's a balance you may always be tweaking, but the whole process begins with learning to ignore the irrelevant.

So, beginning today, exercise your ignoring muscle. Switch off the TV, opt out of gossip, read less of the daily paper, don't get sucked into debates or discussions on topics that are opinion rather than fact-based. Soon you may find a whole new meaning to the phrase "ignorance is bliss!"