The self-improvement trap we fall in
I have a confession to make.
I am an addict.
I am addicted to self-improvement.
I used to read, watch, and listen to everything related to self-improvement. Any form of unproductive entertainment used to be considered time wasted. Whatever information I came in contact with had to be educational. If the title didn’t contain the keywords “how to”, I’d skip it.
It felt like I was living solely to quench my thirst for knowledge. All this information overload, in many instances, overwhelmed me. Instead of enlightening and inspiring me, it proved how useless, stupid, and poor I was.
Compared to a fourteen-year-old prodigy, I was the biggest failure.
Such a waste
All these wasted hours, the squandered energy, and the useless negative emotions…
Of the information consumed, I remember maybe like two per cent. And even less than that, maybe one per cent, I have applied in my life.
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
There must be a better way. A more efficient way (here comes my self-improvement side, again.)
The alternative
If I were to start again,
- I’d learn about the Forgetfulness curve.
- I’d learn how to increase my rate of retention through spaced repetition.
- I would treat self-improvement like medicine, not like a non-stop supermarket you can visit anytime you feel bored.
- I would put a limit on my consumption and force myself to create. To create more and consume less.
- Any new information I learned, I had to rewrite it using my own words.
What’s their motive?
I would be more wary of the intention of these self-improvement experts.
- A full-time YouTuber’s intention isn’t to teach you how to do X. It’s to publish videos often on topic X for the algorithm and to keep you watching until the end.
- A full-time writer intends to make money from words. They do it by offering paid courses, paywalled articles, or books.
- A full-time podcaster intends to keep you listening and receive five-star reviews from you to get more paid sponsors.
It doesn’t mean these experts don’t offer good information. But always keep the intention of the messenger in the back of your mind.
Why I do it
I intend to give as much free good advice to my younger self.
Why? I wrote about it here.
I don’t make money from my writing. I don’t have sponsors. My work isn’t influenced by my need to make money. Not yet, anyway.
But the most important reason is this:
The best way to learn is to teach!
I write so I can teach.
I teach so I can learn.
I learn so I can remember.
I remember so I can apply.
I apply so I can live it.
If you want to learn something, to remember new information, teach it to someone else.