The Cost of Getting Ahead

We live in an age of perpetual motion where everything needs to be done yesterday. Because of this, we are required to cut corners and make sacrifices that we refer to as “shortcuts” even when we know it results in a worse outcome. For example, skipping breakfast in a rush to leave the house might save you a few minutes, at the cost of not being able to focus later on in the morning.

Not all shortcuts are equal, and not all are good for us, but one thing remains true in every one you take. Many shortcuts bear a cost. Be that to yourself, others or even the one who created it.

An everyday example

Say you are stuck in traffic, the person in front decides to take another route to save time, innocent enough, right? Well, what if you do the same and start a chain reaction, and now there are 10 cars taking the same route? Not only have you simply moved the block, but you might have also blocked the people who live along that alternative route.

The cost here is to yourself and others under the guise of saving time, but in reality, you are just stuck somewhere else, with added traffic. The point here is to demonstrate that your choices, no matter how small and inconsequential they seem, impact both yourself and others. So it’s important when making decisions to consider the impact those decisions have on both you and others.

The creators burden

This idea extends to the creators of shortcuts too. When you create something, if people depend on then it creates a demand. All of a sudden, making changes to that tool now carries a responsibility to those who now depend on it, which can be unidirectional or even something that works against the vision for that tool.

The problem here is that the burden is largely on the creator and not those who depend on the tool. What was once created with love and passion is now unable to evolve due to demand or resistance.

If you gain value through the use of these shortcuts, you have a duty of care to support them. This, in turn, allows it to continue to exist but also supports those who made it possible. There are usually ways and means in which we can do this, from spreading the word, contributing back or supporting it financially.

Weaponised tools

There is, however, a subset of tools which exist to actively harm other tools. They provide value or even a means of achieving something you might not have been able to do yourself, at least not right away.

The key here is intent: is it something truly helping, or is it actually eroding skills we already have, or even denying you the ability to walk through that problem, understand it, and actually be better prepared to deal with it.

Sometimes they wrap around something hard to use on its own; other times, they make you feel like you have “made” something. Just remember when using these tools what came before, what makes them possible, and the impacts that using them has, because they don’t have anyone’s back.

Closing thoughts

Our world is becoming ever more hostile. What we need is not quick fixes and closed loops offering a pale imitation of what we can already do. What we need is to come together, support one another, share our knowledge and expertise, because caring means taking responsibility for the ugly parts too.

The ugly parts are where we don’t support people that allow you to breathe a little easier, the parts where a creative doesn’t get to pour their life experience into something that people connect with, or the articles you read without ever visiting the website.

It means recognising that with each and every shortcut we choose, what kind of world we are building and who really stands to benefit from it.