The entire library of Alexandria times 10 is at our fingertips at all times. The opportunity to learn anything you please has never been easier. But one crucial component is typically missing: the desire to learn.
When we are born, we have a natural enthusiasm for learning. But as we age, we lose this striving. We give it up for other things. We focus more on the outcome - e.g., getting money - instead on the process - e.g., developing a skill.
Broadly speaking, feeding your brain with useful information is not that difficult. However, as the options to educate yourself are becoming more abundant, so are the options to entertain yourself.
How do you cultivate a desire to learn? How do you fend off all the time-wasting channels and focus on the ones that can enhance your skills, not on the ones that can diminish them?
Now these are interesting questions to consider.
From my perspective, there are two major hurdles when it comes down to cultivating a desire to learn: 1) you are not clear on what you want, and 2) you can't bear detaching yourself from the whims of the crowd.
The first one is kind of obvious. The second one is a more intriguing problem.
When all of your friends are on social media, talking about social media, and discussing the latest clips circulating within the social media space, it's hard to ignore these channels if you want to be part of the conversation. Typically, you would want to fit in. You would want to share your opinion about what's trending. And for this to happen, you would have to bury your head deep down these time-wasting apps.
There's a lot more to be said here, but I would conclude by saying that figuring out what you want is typically not enough. Having the inner fortitude to pursue a path that is atypical to the most common one among your peers is of significance as well.
Worth reflecting on:
What do you choose to do with all the information circling around?
All the information lying around is useless unless it's harnessed in some useful way.
I'm not going to suggest what you should focus on or what you should consume. It's up to you to decide that, I simply can't know. My point here is to help you think about this topic for a while.
Do you have a plan for using the information we have access to?
If all of your efforts are directionless, and you are simply relying on the algorithm to dictate what you consume, this topic will probably make you feel uncomfortable. And we typically don't like to be placed in such a situation - especially from random people on the internet. Yet, I really hope you can stay with this question for a while and consider what's the best use of your time online based on your own interests, not on the interests of other people.
Worth reading:
From my desk:
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When Things Are Not Working Out As Planed (Members only): "When I started this website, I had a bold vision about what it would eventually become. I had it all workout in my mind. I wanted my writing to showcase not only the things I’ve learned, and the person I was, but also the person I was becoming – hopefully a better man with a refined thinking process."
From around the web:
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Pmarca Guide to Career Planning: Opportunity: "The first rule of career planning: Do not plan your career. The world is an incredibly complex place and everything is changing all the time. You can’t plan your career because you have no idea what’s going to happen in the future."
Worth thinking about:
"Have you noticed that only in time of illness or disaster or death are people real?"
― Walker Percy, The Moviegoer
Thanks for reading and talk soon!
