The Problem with Goal-Oriented-Reading

Why Focusing Only On What You Can Implement Now Is Not A Good Idea…

© Daniel Wieser

Introduction

Can you always implement what you are reading? Isn’t that a very short-sighted idea of reading books? Are you really „wasting time“ if you are reading about something that does not give you a „benefit“ immediately?

How to Get Rich

It is very simple to get rich. All you have to do is read a few books and „implement“ the ideas. Look on Amazon and search for „how to get rich“. You will find lot of books.

But…is this what you truly want?

Your Own Limitations

Who told you that „getting rich“ is a good idea?

Capitalist ideology…

Also, there might be many other things that could be more beneficial to you in the long run. The problem currently is this: You are limited by what you know and understand under current circumstances.

Poor people for example will probably not see the „value“ of learning engineering if their everyday struggles are coming in the way. They have to get rid of these struggles first in order to be able to have a clear mind and see the importance of other things.

You are limited by what you currently know.

Currently, you understand that „being rich“ is a good thing (for several reasons) which is why you have the motivation to be rich (and intention etc.)

Do not focus on what benefits you short-term.

Learn what is beneficial in the long-run.

You might not understand topological manifolds (yet) and therefore cannot see the final destination of learning such concepts.

Why?

Because you are limited by what you currently know and understand.

Simple Concepts

Self-Help and Medium are full of them. I wrote about that here:

Cliché, Platitudes, Bromide, Truism: The Heart of Self-Help

You understand simple concepts:

Earn money, food, eat, sleep, fuck.

Stuff that helps you to achieve these things will therefore have priority. But is this what life is about? Focusing on simple things and how to get more of them or get them easier?

This makes you nothing more than an animal trained to do tasks more efficiently.

Do Things Differently

But one day, there comes enlightenment, and you suddenly do stuff differently. You care for concepts you previously did not understand. Then you will also understand how short-sighted „getting rich“ really was all along…

Understand the importance of dealing with complex subjects that you cannot comprehend today.

But in order to do this,
you have to do things differently…