In the age of instant gratification, we’ve learned to siphon our information from the internet like an alcoholic slamming their first martini of the day. Everything in seconds, imbibed, buzzed, and digested by the brain into our reality. The trouble is that more often than not, the answers we’re looking for are abbreviated on the net; designed to capture the attention of robotic search engines with no thought towards the actual content displayed to the seeker. Even worse, the article could be incorrect. Wrong. A lie. A false answer that in our haste, we take as truth.

I have learned from experience that the internet is only as good as its contributors, or in other words, as good as a neighbour; a stranger on the street; or at extremes, a manic street preacher. Moreover, these contributors are predatory. Anyone who says that they’re not on the internet to make money is lying. I’m reminded of snake oil salesmen from the 1800s – but instead of rolling into town to sell their wares, they take aim at selling to the average user on their daily superhighway commute. How else can the outrageous headlines in Google Adwords be explained?

• “Lose 10 pounds in 10 days”
• “Get your degree tomorrow”
• “Get rich, working from home”

You can be fairly certain that claims like these will be about as worthwhile as the pixels their projected with. Transitory, haphazard, and out for a buck.

I’m writing this because I’ve been in the position of feeling a bit desperate and hoping the internet would provide the easy answers I needed in the middle of the night. What I’ve learned is that there are no answers to be found. The answers lie in your experiences, in reading the philosophers that have withstood the test of time, not the discrimination of the Google algorithm. You will learn more by taking time to discover yourself, by growing according to your interests, than any proclaimed self-help guru could begin to teach you. All of these web salesmen can tell you is what worked for them, and you’re not them, you’re not me.

I’m not pitching anything, if you were waiting for the other shoe to drop. I simply believe that the pursuit of “personal growth” or however you perceive that euphemism, should happen at the same pace as any growth of worth; slowly, and with experience and environment as your guide. The best and longest lived trees put on a tiny shell of growth every year, steadily reaching towards the sky. This isn’t in terms of some heavenly metaphor, but honestly and simply pursuing their source of life and energy.

So what gives you energy? What feeds your soul, what gets you excited? Take your time and really think about this. It could be the most important step in your own journey, a journey that will only ever be properly experienced as yourself.