being informed ≠ your life
Last week, I wrote about pausing before automatically returning to routine. But what about the routines we've developed around staying informed?
Many important things are happening in the world right now – I’m not negating this. I also find myself wondering about how “being informed” has become synonymous with being who we are.
What started as conscious engagement with the world has, for many of us, become something else entirely: an identity trap disguised as civic duty.
I've watched brilliant, thoughtful people get caught in this web. We only have to tap into our devices to see the sound bites shared by our friends and acquaintances that serve as identity markers showing who is safe to interact with – and who we choose to “unfriend.”
The othering is real.
Yep, I’m guilty of this too.
Is it healthy for us to have a sense of self that is so intertwined with knowing every breaking news story, every political development, every crisis unfolding in real time?
Taking a pause isn’t the same as abandoning our values or becoming complicit through ignorance.
There's also a profound difference between choosing to stay informed and needing to stay informed.
One comes from agency, the other from anxiety.
One serves your values, the other serves the attention economy.
The cruel irony? The more we live "inside the news" (as Oliver Burkeman calls it), the less effective we become in our actual lives. We're so busy tracking every political maneuver, every global crisis, every expert opinion, that we lose touch with our own ability to create change in the world we can actually influence.
We trade the concrete satisfaction of solving problems in our work, nurturing our relationships, improving our communities, or even just making a good dinner - for the hollow activation of consuming information about problems we can't directly solve.
This is where the pause becomes revolutionary. Not as avoidance, but as reclamation.
The question isn't "What's happening in the world today?"
The question is: "What in my actual life needs my attention today?"
What relationship needs tending?
What project needs your creative energy?
What problem in your immediate sphere could use your unique skills?
What small act of care or courage is available to you right now?
This isn't just about news consumption - it's about something much deeper.
We must learn to distinguish between what genuinely requires our attention and what hijacks it. We are better people when we understand the difference between our authentic concerns and manufactured urgency.
It takes work to build the muscle of returning to yourself, again and again, even when the world is screaming for your emotional investment.
The world needs people who can pause in the chaos, not just add to it.
If you’re wondering why in the hell I’m all up in your inbox about this today, it’s because these are the kinds of discussions that are happening with my clients this week, too.
Whether I’m helping a client who hired me to coach them, leading a meditation for folks who are struggling to quiet their minds, teaching a cohort of leaders about authentic connection through public speaking, or working with a client on voicing their values on their business website and LinkedIn profile, I know that
The deep archaeology of understanding what authentically belongs to us versus what we’ve absorbed from the culture around us is essential so we all can make progress and live more meaningfully and freely.
When we operate from our center - when we know ourselves, our values, our actual sphere of influence - we become more effective, not less engaged. We can contribute to solutions instead of amplifying problems.
This is where real change begins.
xox,
Michelle
P.S. If you find that you’d like some support in your next steps – whether you’re working on returning to yourself, rediscovering what matters beneath the noise, or learning to trust and use your voice in the world – I’d love to hear from you.
A screenshot that my client at Amazon sent me the other day, before I led a class on better networking for their leaders. Zoom lighting on point!
Want to explore how to work together? I do identity work. Whether you are looking to rediscover who you are now, realign and strategize a way forward, or want to reclaim your voice and show up in the world, I can help. Yes, this still includes brand content (which I love!) and business and life strategy. Everything touches — and I am here to support you in making meaningful progress.
If you want to share the love, forward this to a friend. If you were forwarded this email and want more like it, sign up here.
For more insights and interviews, follow me on Instagram here & here, TikTok, & YouTube. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.
Be who you are. Lead with curiosity & love. The world will respond.
