How to Nurture your Unique Voice in and Guard your Mind

We are often told to read and learn, so much that we forget the importance of thinking.

In a world where we're bombarded with the availability of books, articles, podcasts, and "free advice" by online 'gurus', do we know what actually applies to us?

I am writing this especially for Zillennials (Millennials and Gen Zs), who mostly hold personal development content and our mentors in high regard — since we are young, we prioritise growth and look up to them (sometimes too much). It's crucial to understand that respect does not equal blindly following.

It's crucial to understand that respect does not equal blindly following.

Beyond Zillennials, I am writing this for anyone who feels like they've lost their voice — in their workplace, their business, their family, their community. I am writing for anyone who forgot what it's like to have their unique opinion. Now's the time to start owning your voice and develop your own thought process.

McKinsey hires people who love to think, not just learn. My recent read, "The McKinsey Edge", is a book that shares the best practices of an exclusive group of executives and consultants from McKinsey & Company.

What I've gathered is this top global organization hires people not for what they know, but how they think. Are you intentionally developing your thought process?

Context > Content

Nothing you read, listen or receive is 100% good or bad. It is in fact, neutral. Don't label the content you consume and advice you get as "good" or "bad".

Instead, ask yourself: Is this relevant to me? If it is, does it fall under my top 3 priorities now? What's my personal take on this?

At this point you may have heard advice like — "It's good to invest now!", "If you're running a business you NEED to get into this type of marketing!", "Go do some internships before you graduate!", or even "Get into bitcoin!".

While all these are sound advice, we need to ask ourselves if it is the right time and space for us to take it. It may not be good to invest before mastering your personal finance and savings. It may not serve you to get into fancy types of marketing without a solid foundation of your basics. Whether you should do an internship or not really depends on your objective. As for bitcoin... please don't throw your money at it without doing your due diligence.

Ultimately, it's important to curate what we consume, challenge them, and verbalise our own unique perspective according to our context.

See the full picture

A lot of content we watch glorify the highlights and rarely talk about the behind-the-scenes. "Use these 5 tips to make passive income 4-5 figures a month!" "Run your own business for a life of freedom!" — Have you considered what it takes to earn that money? Are you willing to put in the hard work to master the skillset? Are you aware of the risks, uncertainty, and possible failures along the way?

Don't be too quick to buy into a dream before you are prepared to do what it takes to get there. How? Talk to people who have walked the path, ask them: What were the hardships you met along the way? If you looked back, what are the mistakes you wish you avoided?

Question Your Assumptions

Don't be quick to believe the stories you have running through your mind. Thoughts like "I am too young or old to start a business or new venture, maybe I should get more experience first." or "I need to get a good job and I will have a good life."

Question every thought that enters your mind, don't be too quick to conclude. Know that your thoughts are perpetuated by your beliefs, and your beliefs have been influenced by your environment, upbringing, culture, experiences, fears.

What are your thoughts? Have you had trouble finding your unique voice within this noisy world? What are your personal practices?