One Apple A Day #347
A few days ago I was talking with a friend about his children. They are both at the at the beginning of their teenage years, and they do a lot of things. Between school, sports and other stuff their weeks are full.
In particular, we were discussing the ease with which the move from one sport to another, always willing to try and learn something different.
A clear sign of curiosity but it is also a sign of a new trend.
He told me that kids now are so used to get and learn things quickly that they don’t have the patience to go through lengthy processes. Unfortunately, there are things that we cannot speed up. It takes years to master a martial art or to become a virtuoso with the guitar. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.
So, they start something with a lot of enthusiasm. The first month or so, they learn the basics, and they are still excited. Then things become tougher. Any step forward becomes more and more difficult, and they become bored until they give up and chase something else.
I have the feeling that this idea of “getting things quicker” is related to extreme focus on achievements we put in the last decades. We rarely start something because we just want to do it. We start because we want to achieve something. This approach used to work when everything was slower.
But now, in the internet era, where everything can be found or purchased with a click, youngsters don’t want to waste time. They want the result, and they want it quick.
I remember that when I was in school, parents and teachers told me that studying was essential to have a better life. It was all about the destination, not the journey.
This is a massive lesson for myself. Too often I am focused on the destination, and I forget that real value, where the growth happens, is in the journey.