The Monkey Mind

(Graphic from lifehack.org)

Your humble observer once wrote that the modern era has revealed an eighth deadly sin:

21st century man craves even more. Our minds need to be perpetually entertained, an eighth sin that the ancients would have listed if they had round-the-clock cable with 500 channels. Universal wi-fi, blackberries and cell-phones, and portable audio, video, and game players have banished boredom forever. Stimulation is available 24/7; life has become Las Vegas.

Scientific studies show that human beings will go to extremes to avoid being bored:

In a recent study, participants chose to administer electric shocks to themselves rather than sit in a room with nothing to do for up to 15 minutes. In another experiment, participants voluntarily shocked themselves while watching a boring film clip rather than watching passively.

Humankind's greatest accomplishments--artistic, scientific, physical, philosophical--have occurred when individuals have single-mindedly pursued a goal. They did not permit themselves to be distracted by the sins of the flesh (gluttony, sloth, greed, etc.) or of the mind.

Today we have amazing tools both to accomplish great things and to satisfy base desires. Too often---and yes, your humble observer is not exempt---we do not choose wisely.