Personally, for my 2026 bingo card, I have decided that I wish to drown myself in weird, niche hobbies and gain knowledge on very specific things.
What kind of teas have calming effects and which have the opposite? Which birds can I go find on a walk in my little community? What kind of poisons do different plants produce?
Maybe it is weird for me to want to learn such things. But haven’t humans always been inherently weird? With our innate curiosity and natural talent for ending up in situations where perhaps an uninterested person would not have ended up– who am I, to deny such humane desire? That curiosity feels small, almost silly – but it’s part of something much older.
Our world today is fast paced. It does not wait long for quite literally anything. There are deadlines after deadlines after deadlines. And before you know it? You wonder where the last 5 years of your life have gone by. This new era of technology does not appreciate the art of focus. Watching five second reels may bring your brain a rush of dopamine, but it makes you forget your purpose. The only purpose that you are born with, is the one to appreciate the world around you. It is to take deep breaths, close your eyes, lay down on a sunny patch of grass (or, in our case, snow) and just…feel the world for what it is. We pay the price of entertainment with our own lost time.
So therefore, go on side quests, try volunteering, maybe become a writer, or painter, a musician, or a cook. Experience a thousand different careers, a thousand different lives and do not settle down. Remember that being a doctor or an engineer may take humanity forward, but it is art and the desire to create that makes us human. AI is helpful, but do not give it the opportunity to take such a basic right from you.
It is because we forget to take breaks and let go of our phones that we find ourselves disconnected. From people, from nature, from the world, and from ourselves.
So this year, I implore you, try to challenge yourself. Try to understand why 5 second dopamine hits will not bring you the joy of long term, healthy experiences that reward in the same medium. Read books, dare to be bored, look beyond my tiny 500 word article, and try your best to be uncomfortable. You do not grow in an environment that cradles you. You won’t find the sudden ‘self discovery’ that you seek in the comfort of your home. Maybe it waits in another country. Or another person. Or perhaps, it lies just around the corner waiting for you, hoping that maybe you’ll finally realize your potential lies in time and determination.