Is the Algorithm Draining You or Training You? (And What To Do About It)

What if the algorithm isn’t the enemy?

We love to blame “the algorithm” for hijacking our attention and feeding us a steady stream of outrage, comparison, and clickbait. But what if the algorithm is actually doing something much more helpful?

In this episode, Justin flips the script and asks:

Is the algorithm here to drain you—or train you?

Using personal examples, pop culture metaphors, and energetic insight, Justin explores how your digital feed is just a hyper-accelerated reflection of your focus, values, and internal state.

This episode is for anyone who wants to:

• Take their power back from tech
• Stop feeding the attention loop that’s exhausting them
• Learn how to train their algorithm to align with peace, joy, and presence

🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform

🔁 Share this with someone who feels overwhelmed by “the feed”

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✅ Don’t miss the rest of the 6 Best Values for 2026 series. No. 6 is already out and No. 5 will change everything—subscribe now

Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel!

Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more!

Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com.

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Transcript

Justin Wenck: 0:00

The algorithm. Some people hate it. Some people think it's a kind of dance. Either way, this episode is going to give you a brand new perspective on the algorithm. Now you might be wondering, how can the algorithm have anything good for me or for the world or for anyone? And in this episode, you are going to find out, because I'm asking the very important question, is the algorithm here to drain you, or maybe it's here to train you stick around? Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money and energy have relationships and connections that delight you? Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you've been missing. If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant and speaker who's worked in technology for over two decades. I'm a leader at transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off joy, ease and love. It's time for engineering emotions and energy with me. Justin Wenck, PhD, now let's get started. So the algorithm, it's not just it's not just a dance craze, algorithm, rhythm, dancing, and it most of you know that it's what kind of dictates what we see or allowed to see or think we're allowed to see depending on what media we're consuming, like our Facebook feeds or YouTube feeds and even news feeds, or even what products you get served up at. You know, Amazon or other online retailers are dictated by some algorithm that you believe you don't have any say over yet. Is that actually true? Because I was just thinking about how last night, I was like, Oh, I'd kind of like to search for this video on YouTube, but I don't want to impact my algorithm, because I've noticed I have YouTube three distinct places. I have it on my computer, I have it on my on my TV, and then I have it I have it on my phone. And depending on each use, I'm usually in a very, very different mood. And on my phone is usually like, I'm going to sleep and I want something to sleep to. So it's usually something, you know, kind of boring, mellow to listen to, or it's just like tones or frequencies, things like that that just like, get me into a zone so I can sleep or relax or or whatever it is. And I was on my phone, and I was like, Oh yeah, I don't think I want to search for that, because I don't want to mess up the algorithm. Which brings me to the point that if I'm worried about messing it up, that means who's in control, me or the algorithm. Many of us feel like we are at the mercy of the algorithm, yet really the algorithm is just an accelerated version of our own mind. I've done many episodes on this podcast about how important your attention is. Why? Because your attention leads to where your energy goes. And so if someone else can get your attention, that means someone else can get your energy. And you know, that's why advertisers want it, because what is your energy, it ultimately ends up leading to your money, because your money is your energy. They all go together, whether you believe it or not, it's not, not important. But if you take control of your attention, then you have control over your energy, and ultimately your money, and what quality of life you get to get to lead. And so is it, is the algorithm really out to harm you, or is it here to train you and let you recognize how important it is, where you place your attention? I'm kind of, it's kind of like, I'm thinking of like the movie Terminator two, where, I believe it starts out Sarah Connor has been in jail or whatever, because the first movie happened. Yet she's she's not looking at it like this is a horrible thing, because I believe one of the first things we see of her she's like doing pull ups in prison, and she's doing push ups, because she sees that this time in prison or jail, whatever. Actually, it's mental facility, but, but this is a time for her to prepare for what she knows is coming, a time where, you know the t1, t8, 100, Arnold. When Arnold returns and she thinks he's going to kill him, she's he's going to kill her anyway. I don't want to spoil the movie getting rid but the point is, two people can be in the exact same situation. One can view it as, oh, this is something being done to me, to harm me, and the other can see, oh, this is my opportunity to get ready for what's coming. And that's what I want you to start thinking about when it comes to the algorithm of what's serving up what's coming into your eyeballs whenever you, you know, open your laptop, unlock your phone, or, you know, open up the TV. Because really, it's your opportunity to see what is it you're allowing. Your attention to go to, because whatever your attention goes to, the algorithm is just going to detect that and feed it back to you tenfold, meaning that once you deny something about 10 times. I haven't actually figured this out, but it feels about right. Once you'd say, I don't want that. And a lot of these platforms, you can literally go, I don't want to see this again. I don't like this. No. Thank you. You do that. You're disciplined, and soon your feed is going to be just like my Facebook and my Instagram feed, and that is incredibly fucking boring. I can't even stand to be on Instagram or Facebook for more than a few minutes, just because it's just incredibly bland content at this point. And I love that you might be going Justin. I see you posting all the time on these on these platforms and whatnot. How? How is it that you're saying you're not spending any time? Well, I'll tell you my secret. I have somebody do most of my posting for me. I choose the posts. I write, the content that goes with it. Sometimes I have, you know, some some things that help me with the content, but I go through it, I read it, and I approve it and massage it, and I'm, I am happy with whatever goes out on my feeds, but somebody else schedules it through another platform, and that ends up there, and then I have, I have, I have somebody to also check my comments to see if I have anything to respond to. So that's why, if you comment on something and you're like, Why does it take him a week or two? That is why. Because somebody has to go Justin, you have comments, and then I eventually get around to it, and I respond, and I'm grateful for the comments, and I thank you, and I'm even more thankful for how well I get to feel because I'm not constantly at the at the mercy of, is there a notification? Does somebody want something, this or that, or the other thing? You might be going like, Well Justin, maybe I can't do that, and maybe you're right, because I do believe there are three, important categories of any time there's sort of an algorithm involved. One is, this is for your work. You make money because of this. So you know, if you're an influencer or a content creator or for whatever reason, being on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, all these things is a significant source of where you derive your income from. Then, by all means, do what you got to do, make your money and just see if there's things you can do to get some downtime, take some time away and not be subject to this. Because it's not about everything being all or nothing about, you know, never having something come up, you know, in front of you that makes you angry or makes you sad or makes you go, huh? What's going on in the world? Huh? It's not about that. It's about you being able to choose when you're going to opt into certain experiences. Again, it's about you being in charge of where your attention goes, right? So there's, there's for your work, right? And then there's maybe for connection, for communication with the people you care about. And this is how, you know, some of us first got into some of these platforms was because, like, Oh, it's a great way to keep up with friends that we met in other countries, or, you know, family from way back where. And we don't see very often, but we can keep up by seeing the pictures and the stories and things that we post. And that was, that was cool. I enjoyed that when a friend was truly a friend. And it's been a long time since it's worked like that, though, hasn't it? So what I would say is, if it's for communication, for connection, then you really don't need to mess with the feed, curate your feed so that it's it's mellow, it's boring, that nothing that's going to make you angry, triggered or want to, like, get into a fight or get sad or get scared shows up. And the people you care about, you know who they are, go to their page, see what's up, and what could be start to be very interesting is if you go to their page, or whatever it is, and stuff like, makes you, like, angry, or whatever you might start to go, huh? Maybe this is not somebody I want to, like, keep up with all that often, and this can just be someone that when I need to interact, I'll respectfully interact. But maybe I don't need whatever they got up in my up in my business, right? So that's, that's, that's healthy boundaries, right? And then the third is, there's the category of like, you just want to fuck around. You just want to fuck around. You just want you just you just want to some entertainment. You want some mindless you want to be on an emotional roller coaster. It's the equivalent of going to a movie, right? And or watching a TV show. You're on the emotional roller coaster, and it's okay to do that every now and then, but know that you're choosing it for me, my fucking around, my I'm going to be on the roller coaster. That's when I that's when I get on Reddit, because I do it very rarely, but when I do it's like I might just be on there for an hour and see all sorts of non tense, non. Sense funny anger and inducing quizzical and just, oh my gosh, how can I get strolled past this fast enough? But I know that's what I'm getting into, right? And so kind of know your reason of why you're engaging with with an algorithm, right? And similarly, with, with purchasing things and, you know, searching, because, again, it's like, you know, whenever you search something in Google, you'll likely probably see that come up again and again. That just means, like, be cognizant of, like, oh, maybe I'm gonna go use another, you know, go incognito mode, or use another search engine or something for this type of a thing, because for what I want my 90% of my life to be. I don't want, just because I thought of this once, to be a whole lifestyle choice all of a sudden that the I let the algorithm kind of like gets swept away with and I went with it. So when you start to look at it that way, that the algorithm here is here to train you that where you put your attention has impact, and you can control where you put it. And so thus you can always be in control of how you are impacting your world, your emotions, your experience, your thoughts, your connections, and what's coming into your life. Then the algorithms are really fucking awesome, right? So if you start to look at it as they're here to train you instead of drain you that like, oh my gosh, there's nothing you can do. It really gives you a chance, a chance at a life of peace, life of joy, ease, calm, love, all these great things that I know you want to experience more of, because that's why you listen to this show. Watch this show on YouTube, and definitely, thank you for being here. So I'm curious, what are your thoughts? Do you? Have you ever tried to curate your algorithm on any type of platform, or, you know, do you just sometimes go, All right, let's see what happens. And this goes for like, you know, music, like Spotify, or other things where you know your listening habits tell you what's going to come up. More like, there's some times where I'm like, oh boy, do I want to do I want to look, look for those songs. Then now that's what's going to be coming because that's really, that's how our mind works, and that's how our world works, whether you know it, believe it, care. So really, the algorithms, they are here to train you. They're not your friend, they're also not your enemy. They just are what they are, and they are a reflection of you. So if you hate what the algorithm is serving, you, time to start doing some curating, start doing some shifting. Start figuring out why you're using the platform that has the algorithm. Is it work? Is it for personal connection, or is it just for fucking around? And then when you know what it is, be very clear about what you engage with and that it's supporting that. And then being careful with how much time you spend on each one, and always ensuring that you have some time where you're in an environment where you do just get some calm, clear downtime to relax, to be at ease, to be with yourself, to be in connection with, with maybe what really matters. It has nothing to do with an algorithm. And so with that, I know maybe some of you were like, Whoa, what happened to number two of the six best values to have in 2026 I'm so glad that you are wondering about that, because they're coming up. I'm not going to be doing them all in a row. Some will be in a row, some may not be. So you're definitely going to want to save subscribed so you don't miss it. But we will get through all six before 2026. Is through. I've got them all planned out, and they'll come in good time. So really hope that you looked at the last one, which was integrity. And so if you value integrity, then working with your algorithmic feeds is going to start to be a lot, lot easier, and it's going to be one of the ways that you can practice being in integrity, because it's like, oh, when I'm in this mode, I'm only going to be interacting with tools that I have trained to respond in a way that supports the mode that I'm in. So with that, I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. Is this something you've tried? Is this something you're willing to try? Or is it something like Justin you're crazy? The algorithm is totally out to destroy us. I'd love to hear so please let me know, either you know in a comment or message me, whatever it is, and looking forward to seeing you next time. Thank you and good day. Thanks for tuning in to engineering emotions and energy with Justin Wenck PhD, today's episode resonated with you. Please subscribe and leave a five star review. Your feedback not only supports the show, but also helps others find us and start their journey of emotional and energetic mastery. You can also help by sharing this podcast with someone you think will love it just as much as you do. Together, we're engineering more amazing lives. You.