Why should you give more than take?
Wise men suggest we should give more than we take. Is it, though? Or it’s just a trap to maintain social order and avoid stronger getting stronger?
Let me share my experience with my very first internship. I was asked to understand the existing codebase and suggest some suggestions. I spent 2 weeks just skimming through the code, reading the code. I tried to run it on my own machine. Then I was asked to suggest some improvements. And I was blank. Everything works so perfectly, is there even any scope for improvements? Definitely not!
The moment of truth came when I was asked to redesign a system with a different set of parameters but with the same fundamental concept. And guess what, when I started to code, I was like, What’s this? Why are things written in such a way? Most of the stuff is missing; how could this even work?
It was the moment I realized, just knowing things, collecting information is not enough. You will not “know” it enough. Your way of looking at the concept would be different if you were to give something rather than just take. Also, whatever you “know” will evaporate with time as the brain needs some purpose to keep that information in your mind.
Similarly, I calculated my YouTube watch time. I usually listen to a new concept than yesterday. Also, I tend to know what I am learning as YouTubers put considerable effort into the videos. Then am I the person who “knows” a lot of things?
No. The things I learn through YouTube watching just give me a sense of knowing something, but things don’t fit in the picture when it comes to using those concepts. Our mind makes an effort to put us in the trap of feeling that we are doing something purposeful. But you are not.
The whole universe is a feedback-based system. If there is no positive feedback, the system will die. If there is positive feedback, it will sustain. The same is with this idea. The more you give back, the more you create content, more people get inspired, and ideas spread.
The moral of the story is to Give more. Don’t just listen to someone. Get actively engaged in whatever you are doing for learning. Rather than just listening to some podcasts, try to collect your own ideas and pen them down. Make sure you are uploading more than downloading.
Well, you must have guessed why I wrote this blog. Give more, learn more!
