Reconnecting with Your Inner Voice in an Age of Distraction

In this day and age, most of us are suffering from information overload. Every device is getting smarter, constantly competing for our attention. The data is out there—look it up for yourself. We’re losing our ability to focus. In fact, studies show that just having your smartphone in the room can reduce your ability to concentrate.

And on top of that? Every day, we stretch ourselves thinner. We subscribe to this “have it all” mentality, piling on more and more, splitting our attention into a million different directions. The result? We barely make real progress toward any of our goals.

In my primary job, I work in mental health, and every day, I see more people struggling with anxiety or being diagnosed with depression. We are also making more daily decisions than ever before, leading to decision fatigue—a real, scientifically proven phenomenon.

And let’s be honest, the planet isn’t doing so great either. We’re dumping plastics into the ocean at an alarming rate.

But let’s stop for a second.

We, as human beings, have a negativity bias—our brains are wired to focus on the bad. It’s how we survived for thousands of years. And yeah, it’s probably what kept you reading this far.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

The real issue? With all this noise around us, it’s getting harder to hear our own inner voice.

You have somewhere between 20,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day. Can you recall every single one of them? Of course not. But the problem is that we’re not even hearing the important ones anymore—the ones trying to tell us something.

Maybe it’s:
💭 “You really like that girl—you should ask her out.”
💭 “You’ve fallen out of love with your dream job—maybe it’s time to move on.”

Your inner voice is still there—you just have to reconnect with it.

The Good News: It’s Simple (and Basically Free)

All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. That’s it. If you want to be fancy, grab a journal.

And then? Just write.

Don’t force it. Don’t try to steer yourself in a particular direction. Just write down what comes to mind.

Carry that journal with you. Whenever a thought pops up that feels important, write it down.

No second-guessing. No filtering. Just write.

And if you want to take it a step further? Ask yourself questions on the page—and then answer them.

That’s it. That’s how you start tuning back in to your own voice.

My name’s Mike Berger, and I don’t ask much of you—just this:

If this was helpful, and you made it to the end, consider subscribing.

And I’ll see you in the next one.