Why I’ve Given Up Radio | VictorSchueller.com

For the better part of a month now, I’ve given up radio.  It used to be part of my daily routine.  I used to listen to it as I got ready in the morning, and while I drove to work as well.  And then, it dawned on me — the radio was a distraction from things that really mattered to me.  It was noise which was drowning out what I really wanted to hear, so I gave it up.

To be more specific, I used to listen to a lot of sports radio.  I did it because I loved to listen to sports news.  I’d love to keep informed on what was happening with my favorite sports teams (namely the Green Bay Packers), but then I realized something: sports radio (and radio in general) was a lot about things that just didn’t matter that much.

Do I really need to know about a pending contract of a player?  Do I really need to know how much money someone is making or about this change or that?  Do I really need to hear about what a player has to say about a game, which serves most of us as mere entertainment?  Do I need to hear commercial after commercial?

The truth is that listening to radio — any type of radio for that matter — doesn’t help me grow as a person.  It doesn’t help me become more of who I want to be.  It doesn’t help me search inward to find out what discoveries I can make to improve the things I don’t like about myself.  All it does is help me focus on other people and their affairs — things that absolutely make no difference to me or my life at all.  I can truthfully live without knowing over 99 percent of what I’d hear on the radio or other news outlets.

Does that leave me out of the loop on certain breaking news?  Absolutely.  Am I clueless when it comes to the latest controversy or riot or gossip?  Yes, most of the time.  But, you know what?  If I really want to know what’s going on after someone brings it up, I have no problem finding all the information I need by looking online.  Not counting sports radio, I’ve really not watched or listened to the news for years — literally.  Did I know the ins and outs of what was going on in Ferguson?  No, not really.  Did I need to know everything that was going on?  Obviously not.  Still here, still living, still doing okay in the world.  I still know the latest news when it’s big enough because I see or hear other people talking about it — either in person or on social media.  I get what I need.  And, we don’t need much, in my opinion.

You see, I’m trying to be more in tune with myself, and I’m trying to listen to me — the real me — the deep me that has the answers I need.  I don’t need more noise on top of everything else.   I don’t need distractions.  What I need is silence.  What I need is the opportunity to have the space to reflect.  I need the silence to talk to the “me” that I want to talk to.  Silence provides me with the opportunity to ask questions, find the answers, and search deeper and deeper within myself.  That’s what I need.

And that’s why the radio stays off, and that’s why I have felt more grounded and more connected ever since.

Are you thinking of doing the same?  Here are some things I have done to take the place of the “noise.”

I’ve been using Spotify.  I found a radio station which is simply called “meditation.”  It’s great.  YouTube also has some great relaxing music.  Do a search for “meditation music,” or “relaxing music” or even “relaxing soundscapes.”  As a matter of fact, one of my favorites is  soundscape which is ten hours of the sound of running water.  I love it.  If you’re a fan of Pandora or i-Heart Radio, you can essentially do the same thing with those apps.

I use my smartphone and plug it into a FM transmitter in my car.  My car then becomes a “meditation machine,” and I can ride to work listening to music that allows me to reflect.  Sometimes I’ll grab a lecture or lesson from a teacher on YouTube and convert it to an MP3 and load it onto my phone to listen to as I drive too.  There are lots of options.  Regardless of what you choose, simply making the choice to do something for yourself, rather than immersing yourself in the affairs of others, has the potential to connect you with much more satisfying experiences.  I encourage you to give it a try if it sounds like something you’d enjoy.

Have you grown tired of entertainment?  Has it just become “noise” to you too?  Are you looking for deeper inquiry and deeper self reflection?  Let me know.  I’d love to hear about it.  Leave a comment below.

P.S. – And, for the record, I have not given up doing my radio show, which is intended to help people.  I’ve given up listening to radio that doesn’t help me (or others).  I just realized the title of the blog may be misleading… 🙂

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