What Is the “Amp Wheel”? | Conversations With the Browns
Explaining the Amp Wheel and how it negatively affects us when we’re on it
The term “Amp Wheel” came from one of our first podcast episodes. We were talking about being on the Amp Wheel and someone asked what is the Amp Wheel and how do you get off of it? We decided to explain what we mean by the Amp Wheel and have a conversation about how it affects us when we’re on it.
We have noticed more and more lately that when we hear a lot of information about a particular topic or when we hear from a lot of different voices at the same time we can get on the Amp Wheel.
The best way to describe the Amp Wheel and how it feels is to tell you to imagine a hamster spinning on a wheel. It’s clear to those watching the hamster that it is expending a lot of energy, but it’s not going anywhere. Is the hamster wheel a cruel torture device or a mechanism for giving the animal some exercise? It doesn’t really matter in this case. The point is the hamster is putting in a lot of effort and not getting anywhere.
The hamster may or may not feel any angst over its predicament, but what happens when people get onto a hamster wheel? The Amp Wheel feels like heightened and often negative energy and emotion. It feels like a loss of control. You’re amped up about something. The feelings start spinning around inside of you. You spin and you spin and you don’t go anywhere. The spinning is not doing anything useful or helpful. If you feel like this, you are on the Amp Wheel.
Do you ever feel like you’re spinning around and around and going nowhere?
Are you on the Amp Wheel?
The Amp Wheel is spinning out of control emotionally or mentally about something that you weren’t planning to spend time on or you weren’t engaged in or wasn’t your business to begin with. It’s not productive energy.
It’s important to realize that there’s only room on the Amp Wheel for one person. YOU. There may be situations around you that get you onto the Amp Wheel, but it’s you who puts yourself there and only you who can bring yourself off.
For us, social media and news notifications are some ways that get us going on the Amp Wheel. How about you? You may see something on social media or the news and it sparks your mind to start spinning. Maybe it makes you upset or you want to reply to someone and put them in their place. You may feel like you have to do something, but is getting into an argument on social media a constructive way to help?
It is challenging to have a productive conversation with someone in the same room as you much less on social media. Some people may engage with you on social media, but it can turn into a back and forth of declarations. People get amped up in these engagements, but there are no real solutions. It’s just you on your Amp Wheel spinning and people watching you spin out of control.
The image of the hamster on its wheel is helpful for looking at your own behavior. It helps to imagine that Amp Wheel when you find yourself putting lots of energy into something and your thoughts start spinning. It’s a helpful way to pause and ask yourself whether or not you should be spending time on that topic. It is self-delusion to think that being on the Amp Wheel is helping the world in some way.
Being tired or hungry can get you on the Amp Wheel. You may find yourself putting lots of effort and energy, emotionally or mentally into a topic, but it’s very unproductive energy. Are you yelling at someone on social media or scrubbing your bathroom frantically just because you need to be doing something? Those are ways to be like a hamster on a wheel. It’s doing something without being productive.
It’s definitely not wrong to be invested in something you feel strongly about. But recognize if you are engaging in frenetic energy just to expend the energy. Ask yourself if your spinning is actually addressing the issue or helping in some way. Is your energy needed at this time? Are you being productive or trying to avoid doing something else?
How to get off the Amp Wheel
To start with, put the phone down and turn the TV off. If you know that certain topics on social media or the news will set you off, don’t put them into your view. Don’t give them your energy.
What if you can’t step away from the topics that set you off? You may have people in your community or in your home that set you off on the Amp Wheel.
This is where you need to think about responding instead of reacting. It’s not that the issue doesn’t matter to you. The issues matter. Think about how you can engage with the issues and make a difference in a meaningful way. If you can’t engage the issue or make any changes, focus on what you can do in your life right now. Focus on the ways you can make a difference personally.
Be aware when you’re on the Amp Wheel or about to get onto it. Consciously say “stop” to yourself. Saying “stop” is a reinforcement to recenter yourself about what you really want to focus on. It will help you move onto something that you can really do something about.
Ask, “What is mine to do?” Ask yourself where you can focus your energy to make the most of your efforts? Move onto something that is productive.
Name what really matters to you right now. Pay attention and recognize that there is something that is bothering you. This will help you figure out a path forward that is not useless. When you get riled up about a topic and spin internally, you won’t have the capacity to worry about that topic and also focus on what matters in your life at that moment. It’s using a lot of energy in an unproductive way.
We want to hear from you. What do you think about the term “Amp Wheel”? Do you see yourself on it with some topics? Let us know what gets you amped up and if you have tips for getting off of the Amp Wheel.
Send us your questions and your thoughts. Let’s continue this conversation.
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