Embrace Your Inner Child: Why I Quit my 9 to 5 and Augmented my Long-term Memory

Embrace Your Inner Child: Why I Quit my 9 to 5 and Augmented my Long-term Memory

Life is short. This simple statement holds so much truth, yet many of us fail to truly grasp its meaning until it's too late. We go about our days, working our 9 to 5 jobs, chasing after success and financial stability, without stopping to consider the limited time we have on this earth. An average human only lives 30,000 days, a mere fraction of the current lifespan of the universe. When we subtract the time spent with our parents before college and deduct the hours dedicated to sleeping, eating, and exercising, we are left with a mere 10,400 days. That's only 28 years to make an impact, to create a life worth living.

Money is often seen as the ultimate goal, the key to happiness and success. But in reality, it is time that is the most precious asset we possess. Money can be earned back, but time, once gone, can never be retrieved. Many of us sacrifice our time in pursuit of success, thinking that it is the only path to fulfillment. However, I started to realize that this lifestyle, this constant hustle, was not who I truly am. It didn't make me feel fulfilled.

I was reminded of a Ted talk I once watched by Scott Dinsmore titled "How to Find Work You Love". Dinsmore posed the question, "Is this how you are going to spend the rest of your life? Have you tried your best to figure out who you are and why you exist?" These questions struck a chord within me. I realized that life is too short to spend it working on someone else's dream, on something that doesn't truly align with my inner passions and desires.

In order to live a life worth remembering, I had to reconnect with my inner child, that part of me that knows me best. I had to ask myself, if I only had 28 years left on this earth, how would I spend that time? How do I want people to remember me? What are the things that, if left undone, would fill me with regret on my deathbed?

This journey of self-discovery led me to make some drastic changes in my life. I quit my 9 to 5 job and decided to embrace my inner child, to pursue my passions and create a life that truly reflects who I am. This decision was not easy, but it was necessary for my own personal growth and fulfillment.

But it wasn't just about quitting my job and pursuing my dreams. I realized that in order to make the most of my limited time on this earth, I needed to augment my long-term memory. I needed to find a way to remember the things that truly matter to me, to retain the knowledge and experiences that shape who I am.

The concept of augmenting long-term memory has been explored by many computer pioneers, including Douglas Engelbart, Ted Nelson, and Tim Berners-Lee. These visionaries understood the power of memory and its role in expanding human intelligence. And I wanted to tap into that power.

That's when I discovered Anki, a personal memory system that guarantees I will remember something, with minimal effort. Anki allows me to choose what I want to remember, making memory a deliberate choice rather than a haphazard event left to chance.

At first, I struggled to make Anki a habit. But then, I took on a project as a joke, wondering if I could use Anki to memorize a short book about the Unix command line. Surprisingly, this project not only helped me learn the book but also made it easier for me to build an Anki habit. The project gave me confidence and allowed me to experiment with different ways of posing questions, enhancing my overall learning experience.

I soon realized that Anki was not just a tool for memorizing books. It became an invaluable asset when reading research papers, especially in fields outside my expertise. Anki gave me the confidence to retain knowledge over the long term and helped me connect emotionally to the questions and answers I posed. It became clear that Anki worked best when used in service to some personal creative project, when there was a tangible output to connect to.

But it's not enough to simply review Anki cards. To truly internalize a process, to make it a part of your being, you need to carry out the process in context. You need to solve real problems with it. Anki is just a tool, a means to an end. It's the creative projects, the real-world application of knowledge, that truly solidify the learning experience.

In conclusion, life is indeed short, and it is up to us to make the most of the time we have. Embracing our inner child, pursuing our passions, and creating a life worth remembering are essential steps in this journey. Additionally, augmenting our long-term memory with tools like Anki can help us retain the knowledge and experiences that shape who we are.

Here are three actionable pieces of advice to help you on your own journey:

1. Take the time to reconnect with your inner child. Reflect on what truly brings you joy and fulfillment. Ask yourself the difficult questions and be honest with your answers.

2. Explore memory augmentation tools like Anki. Find a way to incorporate them into your learning and creative projects. Use them as a means to enhance your understanding and retention of knowledge.

3. Don't just focus on accumulating knowledge, but find ways to apply it in real-world contexts. Engage in creative projects that allow you to use what you've learned. This will solidify your understanding and make the learning process more meaningful.

Remember, life is too short to spend it working on someone else's dream. Embrace your inner child, augment your long-term memory, and create a life that reflects who you truly are.