Not every problem in the world must be your problem

When I was young I used to believe that the world is an amazing place where most people are living a happy life. Nowadays I start to see the fact that the world is filled with a lot of smart and nice people, that have to tolerate the millions of idiots that live in the same cities, countries or even neighbourhoods.

Besides that, the world has many problems that we cannot fix so easily. Hunger, abuses, people being killed for organs, people being kidnapped and raped, others being shot at, others living in poverty, and so on.

Nothing is the way I saw it when I was really young, and I guess that's just how things are. It's not like I can suddenly change everything and make the world a better place. None of us can. Most of us have problems to deal with, even if they're not as big as other people's problems, and while it's great to care about other things, you also have to care about yourself and those around you.

The thing is that a lot of people nowadays behave like you need to constantly be aware of all the wrong things that are happening in the world, and if you're not, if you're not tweeting about it, if you don't talk about those problems, if you don't "care", then you're a horrible human being.

I like to compare those people with those annoying teachers in high school who wanted you to study really hard for their subject, but didn't give a crap about the fact that you had other teachers that had the same request. Everybody else wanted you to focus on them, and only on them. It didn't matter that you'd end up with no time for yourself. You shouldn't be selfish.

People who think that their problems are urgent and must receive a lot of attention are like those teachers in high school. Vegans believe that animals are suffering so much that you should stop eating any type of meat in order to save them. Those who worry about climate change and global warming try to tell you how the world is gonna end soon if you don't stop using your car. The people who read the bible every day and think that believing in their God is the only way to live a good life are trying to tell you how wrong you are about everything you do.

Then there are the problems I mentioned above, like world hunger, people suffering, dying, having all kind of diseases and so on.

In such a world, there's only one thing you can do in order to be able to live a decent life without going insane - realize that not every problem in the world must be your problem.

Don't try to solve everything. Don't try to care about everything. It would be great if you could, but you can't. You have 24 hours at your disposal and a limited amount of energy that you probably have to divide between going to work, taking care of your family and sleep. Then there are friends, parents, extra hours at work, bills and so on.

You cannot live a good life and care about every single wrong thing that is happening in the world. It sounds selfish, and it may be, but it's also realistic. Even if you do care about most problems, that won't solve anything. It amuses me how many people think that mentioning climate change on Twitter is gonna save the world. It's not.

Decide what problems you care about most, and try to solve them, one way or another. Do you really care about kids with cancer? Donate, try to make people donate, either money or food or whatever those kids need, or maybe you can volunteer in a hospital. Do you really care about world hunger? Try to donate food or money. Do you really care about people with diseases? Try to find a cure, or just donate money to those who are already trying in order to increase their chances.

But don't focus on every single problem the world has at the same time, because you won't have time to solve any of them. You have too many things to do, and your time and energy are limited. Learn how to prioritize, even if it makes you feel look like an asshole in the eyes of those who believe you must dedicate your life to fixing everything.

Sometimes, caring more about yourself and those around you may have a bigger impact than mentioning every problem in the world on Twitter at least 1440 times a day.