Our biology has evolved faster than our culture in most of our history. But, with agriculture, this has changed. With the innovations, the difference between biological and cultural change has increased dramatically.
Now, we are getting so much more information in a month than our ancestors got in their life. There are so many opportunities everywhere. You can learn any concept at a high level just by watching videos on YouTube. But everything comes with a price.
When you enter YouTube for searching a concept you want to learn, YouTube will show you 5–10 videos the moment you enter. These can be entertainment or other valuable videos that will increase your knowledge. I get the second one usually because I follow people who will help me create a better me. At that moment, chemical events begin in my body, and my brain tells me, "Oh, you have to watch this video. This will help you a lot." I was loving that happy to learn new things. However, this is so overwhelming when you think about how many valuable videos are on YouTube, and we are talking about only YT. There are other resources, like books, Medium, blogs, etc.
Trying to perceive and understand everything saved our ancestors' life. But we must hit the breaks for the first time in history. There are so many things to learn. For example, I have a couple of interest areas, each requiring 3–10 years to be an expert.
I know I can’t learn all of them. I have to decide to sacrifice some of them. This behavior is not natural. It is against our nature. If I don’t learn one of these, maybe a wolf eats me in the night? What if I can’t find food? This is the idea that we need to handle.
I love this quote from Steve Jobs:
People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.
I am not talking about only focusing on one thing in our lives. We must consider how much we want to go deeper into our interests and manage our time. For example, let’s say becoming an expert in Network Security takes at least five years. Do I want to give five years of my life to be an NS master? Do this research for your interest areas and let the math do its job. If you have ten interest areas, and each requires ten years to be a master, then take a second and think about it. Of course, you probably don’t want to be an expert in all your interests. Do this math for yourself.
Do you know what one of the best and worst things is? There will be new exciting things, and they will enter your interest radar. Some of these new things will be discovered, and some will interest you as you age.
So, we need to say a lot of NO in our lives.
Our age is the most fantastic time to live in human nature yet. We are the lords of the world. No other species is a real threat to most people. We can learn whatever we want. We can communicate in seconds, no matter where we are.
However, our bodies are not ideally suited for living in this modern era. Our sensors work falsely. So, we need to educate our brains to disregard the signals from those sensors. You can’t learn new exciting technology while a lion is chasing you. You need to be aware that missing out on new opportunities is not the same as a lion chasing you. Missing out on some information should be natural for us now.
Since we still have no technology to re-program our sensors (our bodies), we must work on the processor.
Solutions
We need to solve this problem. For this, we must control the knowledge flow to our minds. It includes:
- People you are talking to.
- Series, movies, and videos you are watching
- People you follow on social media
- Writings that you read
This list could be expanded; you got the point. Be sure those knowledge sources help you to achieve your goals. We must be as strict as possible about what our receivers (eyes, ears, etc.) receive.
One other solution is prioritizing your goals. Put your most wanted goals to the top and forget about others. Warren Buffet also suggests similar things like this:
For example, I admire designers and want to create beautiful things. But this is not on my top list. So, I don’t think about it.
Long story short: It's essential to be in control of the content you consume. Otherwise, you're allowing external sources to shape your life. By managing your knowledge sources, you hold the power to shape the life you truly desire.