Save Yourself from the Toxicity of Education System

My cousin had just finished her high school and she was all confused about selecting the right course and a university for her graduation.

Her confusion wasn’t surprising at all to me. Our education system is a flawed one; it wants an 18 year old to make a choice for life.

Our education system was set up after the industrial revolution to supply work-force to then growing industries. Since then it has only evolved on the basis of need of industries and big corporations.

Education now means getting a job – living a life(not creating a life). People don’t give a rat’s ass about what someone really wants to do in life to pursue their calling. It has all narrowed down to job and money.

Human beings are distinct creatures and we have varied interests

I told my sister to forget about college. I asked her to invest in skills that will assist her in life; skills that might help her start her own business.

I suggested her to learn to paint, do yoga, study nutrition, hone her culinary and swimming skills, read books-autobiographies, blogs, travel, volunteer. Anything that interests her!

She makes incredible videos, I suggested her to make an Instagram account and work on building 100,000 followers, which will allow her to generate enough money and she’d be free to follow her passion.

Now coming from a traditional Indian family, my suggestions didn’t make much sense to her.

It was never the same; luckily for me, my thought process evolved which was a cumulative effect of living in different cities, extensive reading, books, blogs on different subjects, traveling, etc. I have a social circle of different age groups.

I choose to be friends with people who have a growth mindset. I’m 26. My friends range from 22 to 56, all different backgrounds, nationalities, sexual preferences, etc.

Education system is designed so as it gives you an environment to compete with others when you should be competing with yourself. Result – You become envious, jealous, resentful and in the process-MISERABLE!

Don’t you remember that next bencher who always hid his answer sheet during the exam. Those guys were never secure or confident and their lives speak for themselves.

On the contrary, people with growth mindset lift each other up, they’re confident and secure. They believe in the principal that there’s enough room for all of us to make it to the finish line.

Give me one reason – What’s the point of going to a university or school? How is it going to serve you in life? 

I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, apparently it serves me nowhere in life. I didn’t acquire any skill in college that assists me anywhere in life.

Toxicity of education system —Take Math for example

Our education system isn’t teaching us math, it’s teaching us to do calculations. Maths is much bigger than the calculations they ask you to do. Think about it.

We have calculators and computer to do our calculations. Yet we are asked to do calculations repeatedly. Doing calculations doesn’t make you a good engineer; it doesn’t serve you in real life. The best of the engineers, scientists aren’t solving problem on a paper. They use super-fast computers.

What if we use computers to teach Math in schools and colleges? Sky is the limit to what those children can achieve.

Why “Calculus” is a compulsion in the curriculum? I never liked differentiation and integration. Why force the entire population to learn it? Why mainstream subjects are the only priorities? Why not diversify?!

You set same standards for everyone, this is toxicity of education system.  Every child is different.

Then how come you let the education system decide your worth?  It should be based on diversity and not conformity.

They have psychologists appointed at every institution and if a child shows rowdy behavior, has varied interests, is hyper active; they diagnose him with ADHD, a psychological disorder.

With force-fed books to read, lots of home-work(clerical work) and facts to remember,what more do you expect? Children are suffering from CHILDHOOD not a psychiatric disorder.

You don’t need a college degree to be a learner.You don’t need to go to college to live a thriving life.

There’s just one thing you need to live a thriving life – Passion!

And you need money to supplement your passion and your lifestyle. What do you have at your disposal? TIME!

You need a passion and a burning desire to live a meaningful life, the one that you think about all your waking hours. The one that gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. To have a meaningful life you need a code. Your passion is your code, it shapes you, it defines you.

Dreamlining – Tim Ferris introduced this interesting concept

His logic is simple, what would you do if you were 10 times more smart and had 10 times more money?

For me, I’d still be lifting weights, eating the same food, writing another article, living the same lifestyle, probably traveling more often.

Since the only resource that you have is time you should spend it with people you love; doing what you love. It shouldn’t revolve around making money.

You don’t need a job to do that! Either do something that allows you to generate passive income or make money from your passion.

I know lots of people just want to get a job and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you want more, college isn’t for you.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference

Robert Frost

If you have a learning mindset, you can learn pretty much anything. A lot of freelancers make way more money than full-time workers.

Another fad that adds to your success is when you have a raw mind you tend to grasp things easily. You apply your own logic and in the process you become a thinker and an inventor.

Theory and practicality are way different. And theories are shaped keeping practical observations as a base.

When you focus on learning something new, not only your cognitive abilities get enhanced but it also improves your EQ and IQ.

Learning is a painful process and when you spend time with yourself in that environment it increases your personal competence, you get more self –aware.

Watch Sirena Huang on TeD talk, how she plays Violin, her sense of humor will give you an idea of her IQ.

Time is your most precious equity.

My sister said she’s planning to study psychology.

I asked her if she will learn more about human psychology at a university doing assignments and spending time with people her age. Who share similar background and have no real life experience?!

Or with people she’d get to interact with doing all those activities; of different age groups and professional background, who are seasoned.

The contacts you make when you share a goal such as fitness, entrepreneurship last much longer. And these contacts pay you back over a lifetime.

I will up-vote self-education over university education every single time.Your real education begins after you graduate.

As you mature, you learn that life’s not what you expected it to be. And while learning valuable life skills that are important to success you use less and less of what you were taught in the classroom.

Uncertainty / Certainty

Scared of the uncertainty? As you choose certainty – you get trapped.

Most of the guys take the first job offer with a company they’ve zero emotional attachment with and get trapped in the rat race. They spend zero time working on themselves.

Okay, we did it! But what now?

If you have read till here, I know you work on yourself or you want to improve, you just haven’t found your motivation yet. I found mine in the gym.

My self-improvement started with the gym. I fell in love with fitness (fitness is liberating). I fell in love with myself. Then I branched out into entrepreneurship, mindset and travel.

I believe we all deserve more

I’d tell any teenager today the exact same thing: Forget about college.

We live in a world where everything is just a click away. You’d find plenty of resources online. Don’t waste your time on social media.

Following Scoop-Whoop, Buzzfeed? They make millions as you consume their content. Instead follow people who are there where you want to be in life. Follow James Altucher, James Clear, Khan Academy. Have individual question? Go to Quora. Subscribe to subreddit of your interest on Reddit.

Travel a bit. Acquire a new skill. Improve your social skills. Get a sense of the world. Study history, geography, autobiographies of great people.

More than anything you need a mentor to succeed. Find your industry; intern/get a job in that field. If you have talent and right attitude your mentor will find you. 

Interested in Interior designing? Work as an assistant under an interior designer.

Interested in finance? Work under a money manager.

Immerse yourself in different situations, ideas and you will set yourself up for everything what life going to through you at.

You’d sense progress. You’d see that you’re better of than 99% of the people you come across. You’d be able to develop your own point of view that will serve you in developing relationships, expanding business, etc.

Don’t let the toxicity of education system kill your creativity and instinct. Remember that learning is different from classroom teaching and Intelligence is distinct.

Read next: 4 Pillars of an Extraordinary Life.

Good luck, and have a nice day.

Shobhit