Episode 36: Signal Through Noise

We are drowning in noise with the average person receiving over 120 notifications daily and our attention spans dropping to just 8 seconds, less than a goldfish. Finding your signal, your authentic voice, requires creating space amidst the constant barrage of distractions.

• Signal represents your truth while noise is everything that distracts you from it
• When noise is high, your signal gets buried, making it impossible to hear even when it's screaming at you
• Clarity often appears in unexpected "weird" moments when you're not performing but simply being
• The "Delay the Binge" concept encourages pausing before reacting to hear your signal clearly
• "Plus One Theory" helps you build momentum once you've identified your signal
• Harvard research shows our minds wander 47% of the time, half our lives on autopilot
• Even celebrities like Oprah, Matthew McConaughey and Taylor Swift prioritize quiet time
• Five practical ways to improve your signal-to-noise ratio: create signal time, reduce input, question commitments, track unusual moments, and apply the pause
• You don't need to eliminate all noise, just turn down the volume enough to hear yourself

Sign up for a free discovery call for Delay the Binge at PamDwyerSpeaker.com. We'll turn down the noise, dial in your signal, and help you live with high-definition clarity.

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Chapters

• 0:09 Welcome and Introduction
• 0:48 Drowning in Digital Noise
• 1:38 Signal vs. Noise in Life
• 3:20 Finding Clarity in Unexpected Places
• 5:47 Five Ways to Hear Your Signal
• 8:39 This Week's Challenge and Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome back to the Plus One Theory podcast. I'm your host, pam Dwyer, and today we're going to talk about something very interesting. It's about signals versus noise ratios how to cut the static and find your true self and build momentum. So have you ever felt like you're living in the middle of Times Square but in your brain flashing lights, buzzers going off, somebody's yelling about the end of the world and meanwhile you're just trying to remember where you put your coffee cup? That's life in 2025. We are drowning in noise. Emails, texts, news alerts, social media feeds all screaming for our attention. Get this. The average person now receives over 120 notifications a day. That's not even counting the mental notifications from your own thoughts. You know those, don't forget to reminders. Your brain keeps firing at you at 2 am. And here's the kicker According to a Microsoft study, our attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just 8 seconds today 8. That's less than a goldfish. Goldfish are out here making us look bad. So if you've been feeling like you can't think straight, it's not you, it's the noise. And today I want to help you turn down that static, just so you can hear your own signal, that quiet, steady voice telling you who you are, what matters most and what your next step should be. We're also going to talk about how that ties into two of my favorite concepts the plus one theory and now delay the binge. One will help you finish stronger. The other will help you pause before you hit that self-destruct button, and together they can change your life. Here's the thing. In the engineering world there's something called the signal to noise ratio. It's a fancy way of saying how much of what you're hearing is actually useful. Your signal is what matters. That's your truth. Noise is well, everything else. Think about your phone right now. Your signal might be the one text from your best friend saying hey, I'm proud of you. Your noise is the 17 group chat messages debating whether Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds is the best. Captain America I mean, ryan Reynolds wasn't Captain America, but that's how little the noise matters. And here's the dangerous part when the noise is high, the signal gets buried. You can't hear it, even if it's screaming at you.

Speaker 1: 3:15

For me, my signal came through at one of the noisiest times of my life. I was getting a divorce, raising a child on my own, working three jobs to survive and carrying decades of guilt, shame and brokenness. From my childhood, noise was my default setting. Then my therapist suggested journaling and I thought "'Lady, I barely have time to breathe. You want me to write'. But I did it anyway". And it was like someone turned down the volume on my life. Writing helped me sort through what was important and what wasn't. And here's the wild part. One day my therapist told me Pam, you write beautifully. I love reading your journal notes. That tiny comment, it was like a flare in the night. It reminded me I had something to say. Fast forward. And that signal writing became my book from the piney woods. It's now an Amazon bestseller and it led me to speaking. It even planted the seeds for Delay, the Binge. And here's the truth. The brokenness, that noise, it's what pointed me towards my signal.

Speaker 1: 4:34

Here's the thing about finding your signal. It's usually weird, like let me give you some examples. It shows up in like the most unexpected places, like talking to a stranger in the grocery line who says exactly what you needed to hear. Talking to a stranger in the grocery line who says exactly what you needed to hear. Or folding laundry and suddenly remembering you loved painting as a kid. Or I don't know, staying up way too late watching a random YouTube video and realizing oh my gosh, they just described me. Weird is not where we usually look for clarity, but weird is where clarity hangs out, because it's in those moments. You're not trying to be on, you're not performing, you're just being.

Speaker 1: 5:20

Here's the problem. Most of us are so busy reacting to noise that we never make space for our signal. We overwork, we overeat, we over-scroll. We avoid asking the hard questions like who am I without the roles that I play, or what actually matters to me? And for people hitting life transitions like retirement, empty nesters or career changes, the noise drops off and you're left with silence and no idea what to do with it. That's when it feels empty. Here's why this ties to delay the binge. When you can't hear your signal, you'll grab for noise that feels good in the moment, like food or alcohol, shopping, perfectionism, control. But delay the binge says pause just long enough to hear yourself. And when you hear your signal, that's when you can make choices that actually serve you. It's the same with the plus one theory Once you find your signal, you can give it just a little extra each day. That's how you finish stronger than you started.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Here's something I found fascinating. A Harvard study found that 47% of the time our minds are wandering Half our life. Y'all on autopilot. And in the world where TikTok trends change daily and viral video can be old news in 48 hours, no wonder we struggle to stay focused on our own path. Even celebrities are talking about this now. Oprah, she says her morning walk without her phone is non-negotiable. That's where she hears her signal. Matthew McConaughey he talks about clearing the windshield before making decisions. Less noise, more clarity. And yes, even Taylor Swift, in between sold out stadiums, says she schedules quiet days just to listen to her own thoughts.

Speaker 1: 7:27

Here's where you start. There's five things you can do. One is create signal time, even 10 minutes a day, with no screens. And number two, reduce your input, unfollow accounts that make you feel I don't know less than. Number three is ask question signal or noise before you commit. Number four is track the weird, note unusual moments that spark something in you. And finally, number five, apply the pause, that's delay the binge in action. So here's your challenge for this week Pay attention to your noise-to-signal ratio.

Speaker 1: 8:14

What's drowning you out, what's calling you forward? And don't ignore the weird. It's probably your signal trying to get through, and here's the thing. You don't have to eliminate every ounce of noise in your life to find your signal. You just have to notice it, turn the volume down a little and give your signal enough room to be heard.

Speaker 1: 8:39

Sometimes that means saying no when you've been conditioned to say yes. Sometimes it's walking away from a conversation that drains you, or closing the laptop even when there's still work you could do the laptop, even when there's still work you could do. And sometimes it's pausing long enough to realize the noise has been drowning out the very thing that could save you. That's what delay the binge is all about. It's not about shame and it's not about willpower. It's about pausing the static long enough to choose your own station. So this week, pay attention to your noise, to signal ratios. Ask yourself am I feeding the noise or am I tuning into my own frequency? If you're tired of static and you're ready to hear your own voice loud and clear, sign up for a free discovery. Call for Delay the Binge at PamDwyerSpeakercom. We'll turn down the noise dial in your signal and help you live in a high-definition clarity, because the world doesn't need more noise, it needs your signal. Thanks for listening.