Why your need to stay relevant is keeping you stuck
We are currently in the midst of a global crisis and this has made all of us turn to the digital world for solace. The amount of information we absorb has doubled and our attention span has drastically reduced. Every issue that we come across seems to need our “urgent” attention. This has also increased the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). The world is undergoing transformation and our need to change the world and stay relevant is not doing any good. Now I know what you’re thinking, why shouldn’t we want to change the world? Being a millennial myself , I consider our generation pretty woke. But for the most part , ‘trying’ to stay relevant is more draining and rarely amounts to any effective change.
By staying relevant I’m referring to endlessly scrolling through social media and news outlets, skipping from one article to another ,absorbing information from various outlets just so we are in the “know”. We think that us staying up to date is going to change the world , but are we really trying to create effective change or are we just feeding our egos and trying to avoid FOMO?
In my opinion we should talk less about the problems present and more about the solutions. Posting about the existing problems sure does lead to more awareness but does that mean if someone doesn’t post about it they are oblivious? We live in a generation where “if you don’t post about it you don’t care enough and it never happened’’: this is stifling our creativity and making us act from a place of fear of how we come across to other people rather than truly caring about the message. It’s like you post it one day and forget about it the next day and skip to another issue. Problems in the world are not getting any fewer but the focus on solutions is getting lost in translation.
Therefore, this being my first article I would like to leave you with a final thought. Pick an issue you really care about, research about it , and focus on changing the world one step at a time without getting lost in other directions. It’s okay to know about what’s going on around the world, but instead of feeling helpless and drowning yourself in information just because you think it will keep you relevant and add to your Instagram aesthetic , take it one step at a time and focus on how you can bring about effective change. Small steps lead to big change. Remember we’re in this together and just because you didn’t post about it doesn’t mean you’re irrelevant.
