When I visited my parents last week, my dad asked me if I still cut my own hair.
And of course I replied... Yea of course I still cut my own hair.
And he again marveled at how amazing it was and wondered how I did it and expressed his amazement.
And I told him...
I didn't start cutting my own hair cos I can't afford it. It's around $10. That's not much. And now that I go Malaysia often, I could get a haircut for even less. It's not about how much it is...
I started cutting my own hair cos I thought it would be fun to try. Why not? Most people believe it can't be done. I believe it can be done. So I decided to try... Around 5 years back...
And like everything else... First time wasn't so nice. Second time got better and took less time and now after around 50 times. I'm a lot better and faster.
And now... Why would I pay money to cut my own hair? It's free.
That's how we all learn new things. We all aren't very good at the start. Then we get better. Then we get a bit better then we reach a level of "fair enough" competency. Not great but good enough. And we more or less hang around that level of competency unless we want to pursue the new skill further.
I've been trying to get my mom to get off her cable subscription. It's expensive and useless in the current age. We can get everything online and on demand as long as we have an internet connection. But she wouldn't hear of it.
She likes the "convenience". She wants to go home and turn on the TV and watch her HK drama at a particular time... And rush home cos she's afraid of missing it.
Whereas online the whole serial is already completed and she can watch it anytime she feels like it.
Never once did she ask me HOW to do it. She just wouldn't hear of it and brushes it off as inconvenient. And she continues to give herself excuses not to learn something new. Well, her money so I can't force her to change.
I think I would have felt better if at least she asked me to show her how it was done before deciding that it was too difficult for her.
This manifests in a lot of our lives. There are many things that we can put in a little effort and we can reap the rewards for many years into the future.
Like learning about financial education, learn about ETF, dividends or interest rates. Or the different types of insurance.
Or learning how to cook. There's really little excuse not to learn a bunch of these skills. The internet is full of information.
Oh... Then again... We also need to learn how to use the internet. And I suspect my mum may not be interested to learn even that part.
I am pretty amazed by some 40-50 yr old aunties. They are pretty proficient in using their phones and internet. They can find their own dramas online, download them and watch them on the train. It's really cool to see that some of the older generation are embracing new things. They understand that it's good for them and they learn to use it.
I'm not even talking about high levels of proficiency. Just some good enough workable knowledge which is useful and beneficial. Especially if it is used regularly.
Unfortunately, many of us aren't too interested in venturing out of our comfort zones. So we just pay for the "convenience".
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