Why Watching a 3-Hour Movie Is Better Than 300 Reels

Those days to new days

I can romanticise about those good old days, but well, we are trying to talk about good new days out here. 

Hello World ! Well that's the first program I had written during my teens. I was just writing code for the fun of it. There was also an element  of competitiveness to it. I wanted to pass an exam with great marks. Oh of course better than my next door neighbour haha ! The teacher was annoyed that even though I did not attend any lectures, I somehow did well during the exam. It was just me having a good support network of people who knew computers better than I did. But well, all encompassing, I did write code during the time when there were no instagram reels or shorts. 

Today's generation on the other hand is too occupied with reels and shorts. I wanted to discuss just that. 

Instagram reels, Youtube shorts

The topic I am going to discuss today is more of the context switching of YouTube and instagram. Isn't it too much. Today the kids watch the reel for a period of 5 seconds and move on to the next one. Our brains are not designed for such type of context switching. I personally felt the same way when I was trying to do something, and learn something. I took a break and decided(unconsciously) to watch YouTube shorts. Well, my break time was over and I had to come back to my studies. I tried switching off my phone, but the brain was so stimulated that I could not concentrate properly. It was my brain saying, "Hey cheap dopamine, I really like you." The low effort dopamine was not making my life better. The business model of instagram motivates us to watch them. Billions of $s are invested for making us feel addicted to the platform. They make money with our time and attention. Whereas long form content, like Netflix, prime is a subscription based model that allows you to stick through a storyline, a movie or anything for a period of 3 hours. Watching a movie >> Reels or shorts.

We need sacrifice and effort for enjoyment too

When we are enjoying and relaxing while watching a movie, we can watch it slowly. Understanding the nuances, the story line of the movie. When we go out and meet friends, we are sacrificing our personal time in order to meet friends. That sacrifice and effort is useful in the long run. Those relationships do pay off. Then we also sacrifice our leisure time for shopping. We take our time while shopping. But what's important is going somewhere, taking the effort to dress up and taking the effort to find stuff we like, all of that is sacrifice. It's time sacrifice. You could have spent the time on anything else like YouTube or social media, but you decided to go out and shop. The convenience of the phone is to be used when you have no choice. 
Long form content is good. Talking to friends is good. Listening to a podcast on YouTube is good. Anything that lasts more than 20 minutes in terms of video is good. Because that's where real depth lies. You can watch so many YouTube tutorials today on cooking, on speed reading, on so many other things. But well, it's about what you choose to do everyday. You can also go ahead and learn finance on YouTube. You don't need so many resources as well. Everything is at your finger tips. But most of the people probably more than 80% of the people would be watching YouTube for entertainment, but you the readers, of this blog, you are all different. You are in the top 1% and to stay in the top 1% you need to consistently do what other 99% don't do. Doing the hard things puts you in a natural competitive advantage. By definition itself, number of people doing the hard things are less.

Painful first, bliss after

When you start living this lifestyle where you focus on discipline. Longer form videos. It will be painful to sit for a period of 30 minutes. Then it will be a lot easier. You will increase your discipline with time. First 30 minutes, then 35 and then 40 and then 50 and then 60. Don't go beyond a certain threshold. It is difficult at first. It's like inertia. If you are in a state of rest, you will need force to get out of the state of rest. Similarly, once you are in momentum, it will require force to come to a state of rest. That's why I say, it's the game of momentum. Small wins matter. You go to the gym, you feel better. Feeling better makes you feel like studying. Which gives you a better feeling too. You decide to do something more difficult. You read for an hour, your brain is now sharper. You dress well, taking your time, you feel better about yourself. Everything, everything in life requires effort and sacrifice and I am sure you will reap the rewards of this.

But in order to reach where you want to reach, you will have to understand the pain first. Pain is good. 

Practical ways to start: 

I want to give you some ways you can immediately get started: 

- Set a timer: Initially when you are starting out, set a timer for 20 minutes and focus on that one task and one task only. Some apps like forest can help you do so.

- Set a timer for easier things as well: You want to watch a movie for 3 hours. Do one thing, set a timer for that too. Set a timer for 20 minutes there. You will be surprised at how much more you enjoy that movie when you are simply watching the movie. 

- Set a timer for reading a book: Depending on your proficiency and how much you like, you set a timer for reading books as well. It's about knowing your limits first and then stretching them progressively step by step. 

- Set a timer for going out: Simply decide you will go out for 30 minutes. It can be anything walking, playing a sport, or anything. 

Change the thought from negative to positive

Whenever concerned about this, don't think, "I am not going to watch reels today", rather say, "I like watching long form content like podcasts and tutorials". You have to think in positive terms, think of the things you would love doing. Try making a list of those things that you want to do rather than things that you don't want. That way you will be focusing more on the things you want to do rather than things you don't like. Think of what you love more often than what you don't. One would also say, I love travelling. I love playing cricket. I love watching movies. I love watching podcasts. I love going to the gym. All of these things train your mind to see what you love. I love that colour. 
I love creating good software. I love developing content about software. I love writing. I love reading.
I love being myself. I love being who I am( which is the same thing as being yourself but okay :D). I love making people laugh. I love giving joy to millions of people around the world. 
I have heard Srk, saying, I love being a star. No doubt, he's been able to maintain it. It's his positivity that makes him who he is. I like how he thinks positively and reframes situations.

Exercise: 

Write a list of 10 things you really like about life. Say statements like, I love doing... I love playing.... 
It should be an action word. i.e a verb. 

Thank you reader, see you soon ! 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Man ka hua toh accha hai, aur agar man ka na ho toh aur bhi accha hai

Image
I was sitting in an airplane when an old lady next to me said,  "Man ka hua toh accha hai, aur agar man ka na ho toh aur bhi accha hai":  If things go as we desire, it's good; if they don’t, it’s even better. This philosophy by Harivansh Rai Bachchan carries profound wisdom. It teaches us that life is not just about getting what we want, but about trusting the journey, even when things don’t unfold as we expect. When Things Go Your Way: "Man ka hua toh accha" We often associate happiness with things aligning with our wishes, getting that dream job, being with the person we love, achieving a long-desired goal. And when these things happen, we feel joy, success, and a sense of control. But this is only half the truth. Life is not a straight path, and our desires are often shaped by our limited understanding of what’s truly good for us. What we wish for today may not serve us in the long run. Getting what we want is good, but it’s not the ultimate measure of happin...
Read more

Step into the unknown

Image
 Embrace the unknown. There are so many things in life that we fear. Imagine that you fear a particular project, imagine you risk losing something, imagine you risk the loss of a friend, imagine you risk losing love, all of these are risks. But the point is we want to embrace the unknown. What is to life, if we never explore the unknown, if we never know about someone. I feel like it's important to embrace the unknown. It's important to go through the darkest of times together and then come out stronger. It's important to be yourself.  The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find that fabulous things start to show up in your life. I love this, so going with the flow of life, and surrendering yourself to the outcome. That is what makes life interesting. Imagine going on a solo trip, you don't really know whom you will meet or how you will stay but with the flow of life you eventuall...
Read more

There's light at the end of the tunnel

I have always loved the idea that every story, whether in books, movies, or real life, is a journey—one filled with moments of difficulty, sadness, hardships, and battles that must be fought. But what truly makes a story special is not just the struggles it portrays, but the way it turns them into something meaningful, something that inspires. Think about your favorite films—the ones that leave a lasting impact. No matter how dark the night, no matter how lost the hero feels, in the end, things fall into place. The obstacles that seemed insurmountable become lessons. The heartbreaks become stepping stones. The failures become the very reason for success. And when the movie ends on a hopeful note, the audience walks out of the theater with a renewed belief in life, in second chances, and in the idea that no matter how tough things get, there’s always hope. That’s exactly what I want to contribute through this blog. A sense of belief that life, like the best Hindi films, has its fair sha...
Read more