Many of my friends have been going on diets lately, such as becoming vegan or pescatarian. Besides wanting to cook a steak and shove it down their mouth, I have also taken the time to consider my own diet.
But it also got me thinking about the content I digest. I’m constantly finding new books to read, new blogs to follow, and new TED talks to watch. And over the last year, I don’t know if I can really say that all the content that I consume has actually helped me to be a more knowledgeable and wise individual. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t.
But I think something I did realize was that knowledge isn’t how much content you are able to cover. It isn’t about how many books you read or blogs you follow, but knowledge is more of what you are able to share and produce. Just like with subjects learned in school upon your daily life, it doesn’t really help you to know something unless you are able to apply it and use it.
So while rethinking some critical things about the way that I consume content, I realized a couple of things, and that the content you consume can be seen in a similar way as the food you consume.
Disclaimer: The following is only meant to be an illustration, not a perfect translation of food groups. Nor is it meant to categorize every single type of content out there.
Practical Content – Bread, Starch, Rice, Pasta (carbs) This kind of content is generally things that are interesting to the average person, but also practical and applicable to everyday life. Things like learning how to do better work fall into this category. Also, the average TED talk that is simplified, inspiring, and relevant can be considered in this area.
Necessary Content – Fruits and Vegetables (vitamins) Necessary content is usually the content that contains the little details that may not be fun to read, but are necessary for the work that you do. Things like manuals, research, instructional material, etc.
Perspective Content – Meat (protein) This is the kind of content that helps build you as a person by slowly helping you to see new perspectives. These generally take a longer time of immersion and pondering before any kind of life change becomes visible, but it is always the investment for the long term that makes the difference. This is the stuff that you read about famous and successful people, or the long and involved stories and learning process that eventually helps you to grow as a person.
Entertainment Content – Candy (sugar) This kind of content is usually the kind that is at your edge of understanding and application; things that are generally “out there”. Reading them gets you excited and blows your mind, but ultimately it has little nutritional value in your practical, everyday life.
None of these are bad in it of themselves, but used together and in moderation helps an individual to really learn and grow.
