Gaining your own unique experiences.

I believe that no matter which path you take, you will gain something from what you experience there.

The good thing about taking detours and winding paths is that you can have many experiences that you wouldn't have if you went straight.

Compared to walking a straight path, there are more unexpected events, and more opportunities to think, judge, and go through trial and error for yourself.

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I think experience is an asset.
There is strength in things that only that person can understand, and that only those who were there at that time and place can feel or perceive.

Especially now, you can find out most things by looking them up, AI can research and summarize anything for you, and there are many things that robots and AI can do.
Rather than general theories, things that only that person can experience become the value that person possesses.

It's not about the things you experienced—what you did or what you saw and heard—but the unique part of the experience: what you felt, what you thought or realized, and what you gained or learned there that is important.
That is something that will definitely differ from person to person, even if they experience the same things.

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Whether you go straight or wander around, you can gain your own unique experiences.
No matter what you do, what you gain or what you feel is up to you.

However, when you try to walk a path created by others or the same path as others, if you check general theories to see if the path is correct, if your way of proceeding is right, or what to do when things don't go well—like checking a manual—I think you end up feeling and experiencing less yourself.
(Of course, that also depends on the person.)

No matter the experience, there is something to be learned from it, and there is no good or bad, but there is a difference in what you try to gain and what you perceive yourself as gaining.

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I think what people often want or are asked for as "experience," such as what they did or what results they achieved, is the "content" part of the iceberg model.
That is a card you hold that is easy to show others, and it is likely necessary in a narrow sense of career (work, career advancement, career change, etc.).

But isn't it the "process" part—what you felt and thought—that builds who you are?
That's why I think we should be more conscious of our own unique experiences.

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For more on the content and process discussion, see below.

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