🌱 The most useful question (I ask this daily)

Social media question. Gaps for clarity. Experience.

Author

Mitchell Cohen
April 20, 2025

Here’s your 3 insights in 3 minutes. 

đź“Ł Social Media

The good thing about social media: you can learn anything at any moment.

The bad thing about social media: you can learn anything at any moment.

Therefore, the superpower skill of the future is knowing not only WHAT is useful, but also WHEN.

Ask yourself: "Is this content helpful for me right now?" If yes, continue. If no, let it go.

This single question (comes from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) can completely change your relationship with information overload and reclaim your attention from endless scroll & overwhelm. 

Here's 2 things that have really helped me better navigate: 

  • Tricking myself that by bookmarking something I can always find it later, but can close it now

  • Asking that question, then closing social media and going back to 1 small action that actually is helpful for me today

🤔 Leave Gaps

Most people are poor communicators, but not for the reason you'd think…

The key is saying LESS, not more.

The best communicators leave gaps—so the listener fills them in, making the idea theirs. This is every hook on social media.

The Zeigarnik Effect (people remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones) applies to storytelling and persuasion.

Next time you make a point, say less.

Instead of fully explaining, leave a gap: “The reason most businesses fail isn’t what you think…” and let the listener engage mentally.

For another example, re-read this post.

⚒️ Experience 

“Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”

— Albert Einstein

Consider all the benefits of a relaxing massage. 💆‍♂️

You don’t get the benefits just by knowing how it works.

The benefits come from stripping down, zoning out, and letting a stranger karate-chop your shoulders until your brain forgets what stress is.

Put another way, if there were a smart tracker for ideas vs. experiences, imagine what your ratio might be.

I don’t know about you, but I’d have a lot of ideas… and not nearly enough massages. 

So especially now, with tools like ChatGPT, information is the easy part.

Which is great, but the reminder (that I need just as much as anyone) is this:

Ideas only matter if we do something with them.

Salud,
Mitchell

Ps. I just booked a massage after writing this

PPS. What’s 1 experience for you this week?