When there are too many people surrounding a problem, each individual person becomes less likely to act. There’s a social pressure, for one – “no one else is acting, so maybe I shouldn’t either” – plus the fact that people will naturally assume that surely someone else will, in fact, intervene.
It’s human psychology, but it’s a heavy curse. The more connected-but-not-really-connected we become, the more I think this just plays out in society at large. We see problems, sure – but there are so many people who can also see them, surely someone else will solve them, right? And so I’ll just do what everyone else is doing, which is join in the echo chamber of complaining about the problem online.
Fight this. Fight it with every shred of you. Go outside, look at a problem you can touch, and solve it like you’re the only person in the world who can. Especially when the problem is your problem.
Tough to find a job in your industry or demographic? No one is solving that for you; change your strategy. Cost of living is high for you? No one is solving that for you; change your strategy. People are just so mean nowadays? No one is solving that for you; go outside and be nice to someone.
This advice isn’t for anyone else. This is advice for me, and advice for you, and that’s it. We’re the whole team. Let’s go.
The Opportunity Machine 