The overabundance of information, the rapid iteration, the explosion of knowledge, and the uncertainty of everything make us anxious. But is this really the root cause of anxiety?

Under the digital way of being, everyone is a knowledge worker. Almost everything is branded with knowledge – study, work and live.

In the face of the digitalization of daily life, people need to understand the changes brought by new knowledge and new technologies to their lives. Changes in the way we work and learn require people to have new knowledge and skills; Without the emergence of new knowledge, it is not easy to gain empathy through communication between friends.

The thirst for knowledge is more intense and explosive than ever before. There are 5 reasons why we are both thirsty for knowledge and overwhelmed:

First, uncertainty has become the norm

In an environment of uncertainty, people can only find the possibility of living with them and find their own certainty only by improving their cognitive ability. Continuous acquisition of knowledge is the key to improving cognitive abilities.

Second, iteration accelerates, and new knowledge is constantly emerging

At the end of the year, I ask my undergraduate students to do one thing and list the 3 words they think are the most recent for the year. At first I could recognize half of the words, after 0 years I could only recognize 0 of them. That's when I realized that I was very far from young people, innovative words, and new phenomena. This kind of iteration and acceleration of new knowledge has challenged many people, and I am one of them.

Third, cognitive surplus, choice disorder

In recent years, the question I've been asked the most by managers is not "don't know", but "can't make a choice". The inability to make a choice is not due to insufficient information, but because there is too much information. As a result, when faced with problems, there is a lot of information interference and a lot of selectivity to make decisions.

Fourth, time is scarce

People have become more accustomed to "fragmentation", which on the one hand means more time – more time is divided; On the other hand, it may mean less time – it becomes harder to concentrate and focus.

Fifth, the requirements for knowledge verification are getting higher and higher

In the past, teachers could often be very confident when teaching, because there would be a "knowledge gap" between teachers and students. But today's teachers are no longer so sure, and teachers may not have as much information or even knowledge as students, because students are more capable of using digital technology. At this point, the teacher will find it difficult to verify what is being taught.

This series of challenges makes us feel deeply anxious and lonely.

There may be so many choices, but not knowing which choice and possibility are related to them, and people fall into deep anxiety; Because the iteration speed is too fast, the information is overloaded, and I feel that I can't keep up with the pace of change, and a gloomy loneliness arises spontaneously.

Ask yourself four questions

To overcome these two states, "deep anxiety and bleak loneliness", you first need to ask yourself four questions.

1. Is it discernment or discernment?

Discriminating mind refers to the way people treat people and things differently according to the surface of things (beauty and ugliness, wealth and poverty, etc.). Discernment refers to people's ability to analyze, observe, and make independent judgments about people and things.

In life, it is often said that "appearance is very important", and this judgment reflects discriminating mind, not discernment. People with discernment will not be based on appearance, but will make choices after truly identifying value.

2. Is it self-limitation, or is it a lack of cognition?

"I can't do this", people who say this are not really unable to do this, but they are setting limits on themselves.

A lot of students ask me why I can write 5000 words every night, which is a difficult thing to do. I said to him: you start by writing 0 words every night, and gradually you will write 0 words, 0 words.

The crux of the problem is not whether or not you can write, but the lack of a serious understanding of the matter of self-limitation and cognition, and the failure to understand what the real reason for self-limitation is.

3. Is the world changing fast, or has it not changed?

Those who know me well know that I didn't participate in much activity during the Weibo era, and later I found out that if I didn't move, I would be eliminated.

WeChatWhen it appeared, I began to participate in it and opened the "Spring Blossoms" public account. Through this official account, I have the opportunity to communicate with millions of readers, which drives me to better understand the impact of digitalization on the development of enterprises.

For us today, what matters is not how fast or slow the world changes, but how fast and slow we change.

Fourth, is it due to inertia, or is it impossible to cope?

Many people find it difficult to cope with the challenges of information fusion and continuous iteration. The truth is, it's not the challenges that make people difficult to deal with, it's the inertia that makes people unable to deal with them.

In an environment where online and digital is a must, I want everyone to be able to ask themselves these four questions and find out where to solve them, so that they can truly have knowledge.

If you really have knowledge, you will have discernment, not discernment; If you can improve your cognition, you will no longer limit yourself; You will take the initiative to change yourself and dance with change; You will take the initiative to meet the challenge, no longer conform to inertia, and no longer rest on your laurels. (End of article)