Modern urban life, combined with digital revolution and social media comes with some interesting predicaments.

Whether you embrace it, or completely abhor it, the following pulls would have definitely touched you, just by the fact of being a person living in this world.

Optimize

Everything is up for optimization!

What started as efficiency and scale improvements in the Industrial age has continued to keep its hold on the human imagination. Where we are unable to change the hard realities of physics or biology, we tend to optimize.

Maximize

Then comes the paranoia of maximization. We can now measure a multitude of variables, like the steps one takes in a day, or simply the number of followers.

Its assumed that with these measures, more is better.

We are looking on how to maximize every aspect of our life including how to get the maximum out of our relationships.

Monetize

Money gets a bad rap in modern times. But when you set out to do anything, the worth of an activity many times gets judged based on how much money it generates.

Even free play, a fuel for creativity can be measured on its eventual monetization capacity.

Of course money is a necessity to survive in this economic world. Paradoxically, having a sufficient amount can free your from the vagaries of economic world as well. We should not romanticize a life devoid of money even to cover basic human needs, which could be harsh and difficult.

The takeaway

None of the above aspects are inherently right or wrong.

In fact at some point in our lives, or in some domain, it might be the best to focus on these. We might need to monetize some talent of ours or maximize the gains we get from an exercise regimen.

However we need to be aware of how the modern world subtly pushes us in these directions in anything we do.

Just by being aware of these qualities, you can hopefully, mindfully choose when to engage and when to continue in your ‘subpar’ activities in the eyes of modern world.