"Technology's primary effect is to amplify human forces. Like a lever, technology amplifies people's capacities in the direction of their intentions. You cannot expect a technology to transcend existing social forces or transform existing intentions; it tends instead to amplify whatever tendencies are already in place; for example, social media, which instead of transforming us into a newly informed global community, supercharged our existing biases for gossip, self-aggrandizement, and easy distraction."
- Toyama
Achieving our goals is a two step process.
The first step is to be clear about our intentions - understand our motivation for doing what we think we should be doing, understand what our strengths and weaknesses are, understand and accept how we see the world.
We often end up looking for tools and processes and technology to come to our aid in helping us achieve our goals.
Without the intentions being right, all the technology and processes are like sending a kid that wants to be a ballet dancer to the most reputed football academy and buying him all the latest equipment and coaching. It won't result in making him a top class football player. He might end up being mediocre at best.
But when the intentions are right, then all we need to seek out are tools and technologies that will help amplify our efforts.
That's the second step.
If we mess up the order and go for amplification before getting the intention right, we might go into a loop of blaming the technology and the tools.
It isn't about picking the right technology to solve a problem. The first step is always about identifying the right problem and having the willingness to address it.
It is not the technology alone that will make you better at what you do.
CONVERSATION