Observation vs Influence

The skill of observation is important. Observing coworkers, situations, and market movements are key to staying active and productive at work.

Observing ourselves, our emotions and reactions, is important for personal growth and key for anxiety-management.

It occurs to me that influence, that newly-minted career capital, is in conflict with observation.

Consider these differences:

Observation:
Seeing
Listening
Space
Pace

Influence
Looking (at me)
Telling/Being told
Volume - both audible and visual

It is no wonder that each new iteration of social media gets higher-volume. Instagram has moved from simple pictures to be looked at and liked to the endless scrolling and excitement/reaction hits generated by Reels.

Like, like, buy is the intended habit of the software developers.

When you observe yourself after you've been "influenced", do you like what you see?