According to my last year’s Spotify statistics, my music listening hours were down about 17%. At the same time, I had started listening to a lot of podcasts, mainly on YouTube. Not watching, just listening. I spent as much time with my headphones as before, so it’s clear that the time that I spent listening to podcasts was taken from my music listening time. In other words, YouTube gained on Spotify.
Podcasts are good for learning, and I’m a junkie for motivational and self-help content on YouTube. I often despise the whole “be the best version of yourself” scene, but then again, sometimes I genuinely want to listen to that stuff. Sometimes it gets me moving. However, one can never get anywhere just by listening, or just by doing. Studying and doing need to be in balance. Creativity needs to be fed with knowledge.
The danger in YouTube’s self-help scene is that it can give you a false sense of achievement, because everyone’s always so hyped about everything. It’s part of the YouTube game to be as “inspirational” as possible. Still, it’s just talk. It won’t get you anywhere, unless you spend more time trying that stuff out. Most people learn by doing, but you might not know what to try, unless you sometimes expose yourself to outside ideas.
Self-help podcasts can make you feel inadequate, while music will help you process what you’re going through
As I saw the hours I spent listening to endless theories on how to succeed, I decided to get back to listening to more music, because music makes me feel better. It doesn’t tell me what to do, or what I lack. I already know what to do, I just need to take the time to do it. Music is a motivational tool in itself. It’s easier to get things done, when you feel good. Music lets you process the emotions you feel. To me, listening to music is meditation. I get more pleasure out of music, than the endless flow of ideas. I only need a couple of good ideas to work on, and a few skills to perfect.
Podcasts can give you the impression that you don’t know enough yet, and that you need to spend all of your time listening to more talks. Often enough, you need to spend more time trying stuff out and less time listening to advice. Nobody knows your situation better than you do, and no conversation can give you accurate answers on how you should proceed.
I like how podcasts make me think. Long-ass podcasts, such as the ones Joe Rogan puts out, let you delve deep into your thoughts. That time is well spent, but I still encourage you to listen to more music, even though its benefits are less apparent.
Now I’m listening to Kent on Spotify.
I miss Kent.
“Man blir så trött av allt prat
av att tolka språken”
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