I also have a tendency to listen carefully to any criticism or disagreement I hear, internalize it, reflect on it, and evaluate it, then conclude some thought on it. Until I do that, it just sort of hangs there in my head. The degree to which it dominates my headspace is largely a question of how much it impacts me.
It’s very possible for me to read one line in an email or a tweet and have it completely retrack my brain with questions and thoughts that have to be resolved before I can move on—or at least accept being unresolved about, which requires a conscious decision.
I hear ‘you need to stop worrying about things you can’t control’ but the problem there is that in many cases, I *can* do something—I’m not powerless. I put most of my energy into things I’m involved in, believing that I can make some kind of a difference. Why would I limit what things I think I can do something about? And I certainly don’t want to close off the tendency I have to reevaluate my own thoughts and decisions in light of others’ opinions and perspectives, because I think this oversensitivity ‘flaw’ makes me a better leader by making me a better listener.
…I used to believe that time was the most important thing I have, but I’ve come to believe differently. The single most valuable resource I have is uninterrupted thought.
” —There’s a lot to love about Adam Brault’s post on quitting Twitter, but those lines described my relationship with the Internet so perfectly.
