If anybody understands that young people are often overwhelmed (see yesterday's post) and led 0ff-track by technology, it must be Jonathan Haidt. He wrote the influential book about it (The Anxious Generation).
This month he gave the commencement address at New York University, where he teaches. There was some opposition to his being chosen, maybe because he's known to have said that students come to college "emotionally fragile, never want to be challenged to grow, and therefore enter the rest of their lives set up to fail." Yes, some are sure to take offense at that.
But his message to these graduates was different. He told them to treasure their attention: to value it so highly that they intentionally direct their focus toward the highest value, the best outcomes--and don't squander their attention on distractions. In other words, make a good "choice of what to think about."
"Flourishing" is the title of his favorite class to teach, techniques we all can use to be smarter, emotionally stronger, and more sociable. Why does he teach these things? To "increase the odds of one's success in love and work," which is the path to flourishing. There's some wisdom here.
from After Babel
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