Whether we view something as useful or not useful is dependent on our situation. Go up, go down, go left go right, don’t go, wash your hands. Do a spin. Rarely do we have universal truths that are applicable to every situation. It’s almost always “it depends.”
Part of growing up has been realising that life decisions are rarely purely binary in nature. Exercise or relax? Pursue physical or intellectual? White shirt or black shirt? AMD processor or Intel processor? Red Powerade or blue Powerade? A or B? It only becomes this straightfoward when you reduce the options available intentionally.
What made it my perspective shift? When I was in a phase where I hated the world, I was scrolling through matches on Tinder. There was one conversation I had where I was probably being an asshole. I proposed a discussion topic somewhere along the lines of: IQ is better than EQ. But the person’s answer was profound and made me take a step back: EQ and IQ are not a dichotomy. One isn’t better than the other, and being good at one aspect doesn’t mean you cannot be good at the other.
They didn’t just choose an agreeing or opposing ‘side’. They had sidestepped the argument entirely and provided a third, completely valid answer. It blew my mind.
So where am I going with this? I am suggesting that we should seek to better understand the overwhelming nature of the present. A house is burning down? Pour water on it. The burning house is covered in oil? Why the fuck would you pour water on it, you absolute fucking moron? Didn’t you know that adding water to an oil fire is a the dumbest thing you can do? The multiplicity can be staggering. Making choices can be paralysing. How do you know that watering the flowers today won’t attract a cat that will destroy your garden? Two unseemingly related events collide due to a decision you make.
So then what do you do? I acknowledge it is very hard to find and give correct advice. Good can be bad and bad can be good. Advice is hard. All we have is the information available to us. Beyond a reasonable degree of due diligence, there is nothing else for us to do but decide. Make a long-term strategy. Then play it by ear, adjust as you go. Constantly. Because nothing ever goes entirely to plan. Plans are there to get you started. If in doubt, find the feeling that speaks to you.