An Endless Race
Our surroundings feel like a giant treadmill. “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” “Artificial Intelligence,” “Big Data”… The speakers continuously urge us to increase our speed. With the anxiety of falling behind, we run and run until we can barely breathe.
But don’t you sometimes think, “Where am I running to?”
Everyone seems to be moving forward, yet I feel like I’m just running in place. It can feel overwhelming, like floundering in endless water. But what if that standing still is not stopping or retreating, but rather a process of preparing for the most important moment?
1. When You Feel Anxious About Others’ Speed
Let’s start with the story of a designer named Su-jin. She was a veteran with ten years of experience, but recently felt her position was precarious. Her colleagues were all learning coding and participating in data analysis studies, busy preparing to become “future talents.” In meetings, incomprehensible technical terms flew around, and Su-jin found herself shrinking.
“Am I really going to be left behind?”
Feeling anxious, she signed up for online courses that lasted until dawn and sought out various seminars on weekends. However, the knowledge she forced into her head only floated around, leaving her heart empty. She was running, but in reality, she was just taking “standing still” steps without making any progress.
2. Wisdom Found in an Old Workshop
One day, Su-jin visited a small woodworking shop on the outskirts of the city to clear her mind. There, she met an elderly man who had been working with wood for decades. He was using well-worn hand tools, not the latest electric ones, to create furniture slowly but meticulously.
“Sir, in a world where everything can be done with a push of a button, why do you work by hand?”
In response to Su-jin’s question, the old man smiled and said,
“Young lady, do you see that spinning top over there? For it to spin vigorously, its axis must be solid. If you keep whipping it without taking a moment to steady the axis, it will soon topple over. Life is the same.”
The old man added,
“No matter how much the world changes, it is not machines but human hands that feel the grain of the wood and carve a path that suits it. Without taking a moment to listen to the wood’s story, good furniture can never be made.”
At that moment, Su-jin felt as if she had been struck on the head. She realized that what she needed was not to push herself for speed, but to take a moment to look into her own “grain.” Her standing still was not a lost wandering but a time to catch her breath and create a solid axis.
3. Facing the True Meaning of ‘Revolution’
With this shift in perspective, Su-jin opened a history book instead of a technical one. She became curious about how past “revolutions” changed the world. The Industrial Revolution with the advent of the steam engine, the Second Industrial Revolution that illuminated the night with electricity. Behind those dazzling advancements were the tears of people who lost their jobs and were pushed out of their livelihoods.
She learned that technological advancement does not always make everyone happy. Rather, it can become a tool that brings more to a privileged few with wealth and opportunities. The massive wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution could be the same. What’s important is not to blindly ride the wave’s speed, but to read its direction and find where I can stand within it.
4. Discovering My Own ‘Use’
After that, Su-jin no longer obsessed over coding classes. Instead, she began to focus on what she did best: understanding and empathizing with people’s hearts. She thought about how to connect that ability with new technologies.
She designed user manuals for smart devices aimed at the elderly. Her designs, filled with warm illustrations and simple stories instead of complex technical jargon, received explosive responses. She became a “translator” between technology experts and actual users, gently touching the hearts of those often overlooked by technology.
Su-jin still cannot code or analyze big data. But she now takes pride in doing something more valuable than anyone else. Her “standing still” was ultimately a precious exploration time to find her own unique path in the world.
Supporting Your Standing Still
Are you feeling anxious, thinking you are lost and only standing still in the face of a massive wave of change? It’s okay. Your steps are not stopping.
They are a waiting time to settle muddy water and draw up clear spring water, a time for reflection to find your own center that is not shaken by the surrounding noise. And above all, it is the most courageous exploration time to discover a path that is not defined by the world but is true to yourself.
So don’t rush. Move forward at your own rhythm, following your own grain. Your precious standing still will soon create the most powerful leap toward the world.
