The Education Paradox, Overconsumption and The Retirement Conundruum

The Education Paradox

You spend the first quarter of your life in school and university, learning content that will never be useful.

Yet as soon as you leave, you start to learn all the skills that are useful, but the education system has sufficiently burnt you out and you are no longer susceptible to learning.

So at the point in life when you can choose what to learn, you no longer want to.

All because you were forced to learn unhelpful content by the very system design to educate you.

Content Consumption

The average person consumes 7 and a half hours of media per day.

It’s no wonder you're overwhelmed. You are simply consuming too much information without processing it.

It is critical that you start processing the content you consume. For example, start taking time away from media stimulation, create opportunities for silence and think about what you’ve consumed.

Some useful outlets are writing and short-form video. Try using them to reinforce what you’ve learnt.

The Retirement Conundruum

You work your entire life, postponing passions and hobbies, to retire at 65 when you're no longer able to enjoy them.

The idea that retirement is the time in your life when you no longer work is all wrong.

Instead, what if you shift your perspective and view retirement as ceasing the do work that you do not enjoy, in favour of work that aligns to your passion and purpose.

Is it not better to work on what you love and to have purpose than to work aimlessly until you're 65 and it be too late?

Reading Notes

A collection of my favourite articles, Twitter threads and newsletters from this week, annotated with my highlights and thoughts.

• The Evolution of Social Media

• Why You Can't Find What You've Misplaced

• The Science Behind Too Many Meeting

Try this Podcast

Ending Quote

Thumbnail credit: Nikhita S on Unsplash