Work plays a crucial role in our lives. From a young age, we’re asked what we want to be when we grow up essentially, how we’ll contribute to society. We attend school to prepare for a job that will make our parents proud. This seems fine until we realise what it really entails.
For many, work becomes a trap, damaging our health and pulling us away from what we love. For others, it’s a dream come true. Work itself isn’t inherently bad it’s the control and confinement it imposes that often leads to the mental health issues many of us face. There’s always the pressure to work hard, at the very least.
As we approach 2025, we’re already hearing about the top skills needed for the coming year.
While this information is useful, it also nudges us down a particular path the path to success which now demands AI literacy, critical thinking, lifelong learning, and adaptability. AI will undoubtedly change the way we work, but aside from that, not much is new.
This article, however, isn’t about following trends it’s about how to adapt without losing yourself in the process.
Change is difficult, but humans are adaptable.
Just look at how we handled the pandemic it affected many, but we adapted, some more easily than others. The mindset I adopt is one that accepts change as inevitable, with curiosity as the best response. You can’t rush change, but thinking ahead and taking small, intentional steps is essential. Every choice should be driven by purpose and intent.
The best thing you can do is get to know yourself better. It’s easy to chase trends or follow advice because someone says you “need” it, but we often postpone self-realisation. We think the “truth” is out there somewhere, when in fact, knowing yourself is far more important and it takes time.
This is the time to embrace quiet reflection, even with some background music if that helps. Silence allows you to look inward and ask the important questions: What are your values? What role do you want to play? How much time do you want to invest in learning, socialising, and having fun? How do you want to be known? These are the questions we push aside every day, and many of us have forgotten how to ask them.
Technology is helpful, but too often, we use it as a substitute for real connection and self-reflection. I’m amazed by what we’ve achieved in digital technology, but I also see how much of it is designed to keep us trapped on platforms, with our data being sold to the highest bidder.
Simplifying your life means letting go of certain things and activities, which is hard in a society that tells us to consume more and more. But more is never enough. I often joke that we should “travel light”—not in the sense of owning nothing, but in being agile enough to adapt and change without being weighed down. You should invest in things that bring value—homes, businesses, assets—that allow you to be independent.
Not too long ago, people worked to save money and start their own businesses.
Now, the structure of work feels like a relic of the exploitative centuries between the 1400s and 1900s. You want a comfortable life, and that requires diversifying your income streams. This is the mindset shift you need—stop following people who promise easy six-figure incomes if you follow their formula. That’s just another form of dependency, no different from the traditional 9 to 5.
New Generation
I see a new generation addicted to technology and how it controls hinder their emotions. I remember getting very upset when my parents switched off the TV or took away the Mega Drive. But after a while, I would find something else to do. I spent my youth playing with toys, imagining things, and, yes, being glued to the TV.
Now, I understand why my parents kept warning me that too much TV wasn’t good for me. Today, I see my nephews—young kids—glued to their devices for hours, carrying them around as if they’re part of themselves. I keep warning them and pushing them to do something else besides being on their phones. My own children won’t use such devices unattended.
I teach them about algorithms, explaining how companies use certain features to trap us and delay the maturity of our prefrontal cortex.
This is all by design. There’s no way this is done innocently, with claims of “we didn’t know what was happening.” Perhaps decades from now, social media and addiction-creating software will carry the same warnings that cigarettes have had for years. We all know it’s damaging, but as long as it’s profitable, it won’t stop, right?
Education will save us.
Education is the soul of a civilisation. When knowledge is concentrated in the hands of a few and the wealthy become corrupt with selfishness, civilisations collapse.
Environmental factors play a role, but if we look back at older civilisations, we often see abandonment, not destruction—otherwise, ancient buildings wouldn’t still be standing. People simply left, bit by bit, until no one was left to care for the structures, and nature reclaimed them.
History shows us that technology enables incredible achievements, but when abused, it destroys what was once great. No wonder some civilisations embraced nature—people we might call “savages” today. We laugh at their way of life, but perhaps it was the pinnacle of human existence—not like today, where we exploit nature for profit’s sake.
The devices I’m using right now—my laptop, my phone—are gifts of human ingenuity. But I also know about the price others pay to mine the minerals needed to build these wonders: the long, excruciating hours and the miserable pay they receive.
If these devices were made in Europe, we’d probably pay thousands for an average phone. But do we really need to change our phones every year? Change our cars every five years? Why doesn’t anything last anymore? Perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come.