Growing up, I had to learn a lot of things on my own and I sometimes wished I had someone to tell me those things without having to find out on my own the hard way. Sometimes, I end up learning something when it is already too late but one thing I do tell myself is that it's better to be late than to not show up at all. The good thing about learning things on your own is that it can greatly boost your growth because one thing I have realized in life is that figuring things out on your own will make you stronger and a better version of yourself
But the downside is that it takes a longer time to figure things out as you're mostly just relying on the trial and error method where you do something, fail and find an alternative. In the end, you realize that you have spent a lot of time doing something that isn't useful to you but the good thing is that you learn from such experiences. Nonetheless, there are certain lessons I believe the future generation should learn regardless of whether they have an interest in it or not. These things are very important to survive in the future.
Embrace technology
Considering how the world is quickly advancing today, it's very crucial that the next generation learn to quickly adapt to changing technologies. Luckily enough, the coming generation is born into an era with advanced technology and unlike the millennials who witnessed the introduction of most of the technologies we have today, it would be a lot easier for the next generation to adapt to changing times. The main reason why I want the coming generation to take this advice seriously is because of the future state of jobs.
Many of the jobs and industries we have today will either evolve or become obsolete in the future and anyone that doesn't evolve with them will be left behind. I was on nairaland the other day when I came across a thread about cryptocurrency. Some of the comments I saw were things like "Anybody doing cryptocurrency is into fraud" or "Cryptocurrency doesn't have any value, you can't make money from it". I was shocked that some people still think that way even in 2024, considering how cryptocurrency and the blockchain have been changing lives for over 10 years.
There are still some set of people that believe the only way to make money is through traditional jobs; either a white-collar job or entrepreneurship. They believe that anyone who says they are working from home is into fraud because according to them, it's only fraudsters that stay indoors all day and make money. You might think it's only the older generation that thinks this way but it may surprise you to know that a lot of Gen-Zs also share the same mentality. So, the coming generation should please don't dive into that mentality because the jobs we will be having in the future will centre heavily around technology, especially AI and robotics.
Even the traditional jobs you think are safe from AI will still utilize some form of technology, especially AI and robotics. Right now, AI has been integrated into agriculture and we now have robots operating farms on their own. The next generation should learn to adapt to these changes quickly, as that was the mistake a lot of millennials made back when some of the technologies we have today were still in their infancy. Some of the incoming generations are busy on TikTok and Instagram just looking for who to drag or cancel, meanwhile, they could've utilized that time wasted in learning something useful. And this brings me to the second piece of advice;
Learn a digital skill
This section is directly connected to the first one because the best way to embrace technology is to learn how to use it. I really wished someone told me to learn how to code when I was younger because I know how far I would've gone in that field by now. Many people that I know who started coding when they were teenagers have gone very far in that field and like every other skill, there's a big advantage if you start learning earlier. It doesn't have to be coding, there are a lot of digital skills to pick from but I would advise learning something that is related to AI or can be integrated with AI.
It's no use learning something that would eventually get taken by AI in the future, so the way to go is to learn a skill and integrate AI into it because if you don't, someone else who knows how to combine AI with their skill will overtake you. And while you're learning a skill, also learn how to adapt because as I said earlier, the world is rapidly changing and your ability to adapt will determine if you will be able to keep up or even be ahead of everyone. In the future, the ability to adapt isn't going to be just a nice-to-have skill, it will be a necessity for survival and success.
Bonus
Please learn how money works; get a financial education as early as possible. This was something I didn't even know about until I made a lot of financial mistakes. Understand how money works in the world because regardless of what anyone says, money is one of the most important things in this world and a lot of your problems would be solved with the right amount of money. Understanding money is the bedrock of financial independence, it helps you make more informed decisions and it can help you understand broad economic terms such as inflation, interest rates and market trends. Learn about money! Don't just use it.
Thanks for reading
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