Quality In, Quality Out

By Sandi Smith

You’ve heard the cliche “garbage in, garbage out.” It means that if we bring trash into a system, we get trash out of the system and no more. Is your body, mind, and spirit receiving garbage or good stuff?

As a human we have many inputs that we bring into our systems, if you will allow me to speak like a computer person. Think of it. We have five senses that can absorb information from the environment into our brains and spirits. We might think about food as an input, and certainly we’ve been drilled to eat our spinach, blueberries, salmon, and green tea over such choices as chips, beer, cake, and soda. We have lived through the low-carbohydrate craze and other diets and pretty much know what’s good for us and what’s not. We know we should sleep a certain number of hours and exercise a certain number of minutes.

But what about the other inputs we have in our lives? These are equally important to our physical, mental, and spiritual health. The other inputs in our lives are the books and magazines we read, the music and radio shows we listen to, the people we spend time with, the TV shows and movies we watch, the computer web sites we visit, and the computer games we play. These are the inputs we feed our minds with.

Strive to choose inputs that embody what you want to become in life.

Do we make the healthiest choices here? Examine your choices and you will gain some insight into yourself. Do you choose inputs that help you vegetate or tune out from your day? Do you select items that help you learn something new? Do you choose inputs that always agree with and support your views or are opposite from them? Do you make choices that align with your loves and passions in life? Do you choose inputs that challenge you or rile your emotions? Do you choose violent inputs to get a rush from adrenaline?

Whatever you choose, you likely will become.

It took me a while to move from my women’s magazines to books about the great people of our times, but I’m glad I made the switch. Instead of reading about movie stars’ gossip, I learned what Benjamin Franklin did on his Saturday nights (assess the week and make a list of how he could do better next week), or why Albert Einstein was so much smarter than the rest of us (incredible persistence, plus a natural abundance of glial cells in his brain).

These choices might not turn you on as they did me, but the point is to strive to choose inputs that embody what you want to become in life.

It’s true all the way around, with books, music, radio, web sites, and anything we spend time with. It’s especially true with the people we spend time with. Surrounding yourself with people who support and encourage your best self is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. Certainly, reducing time with people who are critical of your success is advisable. We can’t help but be sensitive to criticism and people who disagree with us. I’m especially this way, which is why it once took me nine years to get a book finished when it normally takes me two months.

A mentor can help to fast track your growth as long as you choose wisely. Don’t be afraid to write the author of a book or tape that just changed your life. Reach out to sports figures you admire and learn from their tenacity. Take classes, go back to school, attend conventions, workshops, and retreats, and visit countries you’ve never been to.

Enrich your inputs in life, all of them, and your best self will change and grow to be what you’ve always dreamed you could.

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