156. Dealing with the Changing World | 應對這變遷的世界
– Musings of Dr. Jamie C. Hsu, 2.23.2024
In Blog 155, we talked about the turbulent and changing world. It begs the question of how we deal with that. Some of the megatrends and geopolitical upheavals might be beyond immediate solutions, but there are certainly things we can do to better prepare ourselves for the changing world. Here are some thought starters that might trigger your own action plan.
For Youth and Students
There are so many more new technologies in the world now, causing schools to offer more varieties of courses in science, technology, and humanities. On top of that, extracurricular sports and social activities are draining our youth’s time and energy. Some are suffering from burnout, sleep deprivation, or mental health issues. Instead of asking the youth to learn more and faster to prepare for the future, maybe we should help them to ‘learn how to learn” and “explore the virtual and real world” as much as possible. This may trigger their intrinsic curiosity to continuously explore, learn, and discover in the long lives ahead of them.
For Adults and Workers
The business world is changing fast. Automation, AI-assisted everything, hybrid work, and global competition are putting more pressure on the “sandwich generation” of workers. The key to survival is not just to work harder and faster, but to work smarter and more strategically. To do that, we can categorize our work into four categories of “time sensitivity” and “relative importance.” We typically work on “not important, but urgent” things and less on “important, but not urgent” things.
In this technology-enabled world, what makes us stand out is the ability to recognize and utilize human talents. Having a strong and diverse circle of friends and experts in our network could help our lives and careers in more ways than we may know. Please reach out, be open-minded, and nurture your circle of influencers.
For Seniors and Retirees
Aging society and life longevity are creating more seniors and retirees. The pursuit of healthy and productive aging is getting more attention. With the advent of digital and micro devices, and powerful AI and biomedical analyses, seniors are getting better disease prevention and wellness maintenance. But ignorance is the key detriment to this. It is essential for seniors to be better informed of the latest medical and clinical advancements, but not be lured by infomercials and magic cures.
It is also essential to stay mentally and physically active. One good way to engage in community work is to meet people and to have a sense of achievement. The old saying “do good to do well” is a useful reminder.
The above are just some thought starters. I hope you will spend some time thinking through what you want and can do to deal with this changing world.
應對這變遷的世界 (2024/02/23)
-作者 許俊宸博士
-中譯 薛乃綺
在前一篇(第155篇)部落格中，我們談到了這個動盪且變化的世界。這讓人不禁想問，我們該如何應對呢？对於諸多巨大的趨勢和地緣政治的動盪，可能沒辦法有立即的解決方案，但確實有些事情我們可以做，以更好地為這個隨時在變動的世界去做準備。以下是一些思考的開端，或許能觸動各位對於自身的未來規劃。
對於青少年和學生
現今世界有更多的新科技，讓學校能提供更多科學、技術、人文和自由藝術的多元課程。此外，課外運動和社交活動也讓現在的年輕人花費許多的時間和精力來經營。然而，有部分青少年可能正感到精疲力盡、睡不飽覺、甚至有心理上的問題而深受困擾。我們不該一味要求他們學更多、學更快去因應未來。或許更應該幫助他們「學會如何學習」，並盡可能「探索虛擬和現實世界」。這可以激發他們內在的好奇心，不斷地探索、學習和發現，迎接他們未來的生涯。
對於成年人和職場工作者
商業世界正快速變化，自動化、AI輔助的一切、混合型的工作型態和全球競爭，正在對處於「夾心層」的職場工作者施加更多壓力。生存的關鍵不僅僅是更努力更快地工作，而是更聰明、更有策略地工作。為此，我們可以將工作分為「具時間急迫性」和「相對重要性」的四個類別。我們通常會處理「不重要但緊急」的事情，較少處理「重要但不緊急」的事情。
在這個技術驅動的世界中，讓一個人脫穎而出的，將會是他/她懂得識別和運用人才的能力。擁有一個強大且多元的朋友和專家群，它可以在無形中以我們想不到的方式来幫助我們運作生活圈及職場。為此，請伸张开双手，保持開放的心態，來培養你自己的影響圈。
對於老年人和退休人員
老齡化社會和壽命延長正在創造更多的銀髮族和退休人員。對健康和富有成效的老年生活的追求，正受到更多關注。隨著數位和微型設備的出現，以及強大的AI和生物醫學分析，高齡者正獲得更好的疾病預防和健康維護。但無知是這一切的主要障礙。對於老年人來說，更好地了解最新的醫療和臨床進展至關重要，別被商業廣告和神奇療法所誘惑。重要的是，保持心理和身體活躍。參與社區工作是一種很好的方式，可以讓人們相遇並且有成就感。還是那句老話，「行善者，事亦順」，這是個很有用的提醒。
以上是我對這些變化的思考開端，希望各位會花些時間，來思考自己想要和可以做什麼，以更全面地來應對這個變化中的世界。
