Bubble Life

Today’s Topics

• Read More, Understand More📚

• Life Outside Your Bubble 🫧

  3.5 Mins Read Time

Read More, Understand More📚
By Jo

This is how I know when someone isn’t an avid reader—not just books, but content in general.

Reading forces you to sit with ideas you don’t agree with.

My work requires me to read constantly—carefully, in detail, breaking down patterns and meaning. Ironically, I didn’t even like English class growing up. Now, it’s a core part of how I operate.

And here’s what I’ve learned:

When you read, you train yourself to be receptive.

You don’t get to skip every opinion that makes you uncomfortable. If you’ve committed to finishing something—a book, an article, a report—you have to push through viewpoints that may not align with yours. You take it on the chin and keep going.

That’s where the growth is.

A lot of people avoid information they don’t want to hear. But there’s value in that discomfort. It reminds you what you don’t agree with—but more importantly, it exposes you to perspectives shaped by different backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.

And that kind of exposure is necessary.

Beyond Reading: Real-World Perspective

Reading is one way to build that awareness. Living it is another.

Sometimes that means stepping outside your usual environment.

For example, I work in tech—but I’ve taken on side roles like working concessions at basketball games. Not for the money, but for the exposure. The conversations. The reminder of different walks of life.

It keeps you grounded.

You can get the same from volunteering. From community work. From simply putting yourself in spaces that aren’t designed for your comfort.

Why It Matters

These experiences build character.

They make you more well-rounded. More understanding. Less reactive.

And truthfully, we need more of that.

Because a lot of what we see today comes from people staying in their own bubble—only engaging with what they agree with, only moving in spaces that benefit them directly.

That’s easy.

But growth doesn’t happen in comfort.

It happens when you read what you don’t like.
Hear what you don’t want to hear.
And still choose to understand it.

That’s how you build perspective.

Life Outside Your Bubble 🫧

By Marcus

We all live in a bubble, in a weird way. I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing — but it's why we sometimes find ourselves at a real disconnect from other people and their opinions. Lived experiences are easier to speak from and understand than hypotheticals, or a life you never lived.

I almost exclusively work with clients who are Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers. Most will tell you that Social Security isn't enough, they have no hope of receiving it, or what they're on track to receive falls short of what they need.

Currently, the main Social Security retirement trust is projected to be depleted by 2033. This isn't all benefits, but it's a significant portion — and without any changes, it would likely reduce benefit payouts by at least 20%. We know payroll taxes fund Social Security, so this brings about what I call the:

Social Security Trilemma:

1. You get taxed more to cover Social Security benefit payouts

2. Inflation continues to rise and the value of the dollar decreases

3. Once eligible for benefits, the value of what you receive is greatly depreciated from what you contributed

It's called a trilemma because there's no clean exit from any of these three outcomes. They're interconnected, and right now, younger generations are paying into a system with diminishing returns, while their spending power and Social Security benefit both decrease.

This doesn't sound like something anyone would volunteer for. And right now, there's no clear solution.

Seek Understanding

This is why I can understand the sentiment of younger generations who are rethinking their relationship with work. Some are questioning what it all means — what's the payoff for working most of your life if you can't enjoy it, or for paying into a Social Security system you may never truly benefit from?

Every generation faces its own challenges. Every generation is also handed advantages that prior generations didn't have. Depending on timing, environment, network, luck, and a range of other factors, people can find themselves at very different points on the spectrum. Some do well, some don't.

We all have our own bubble of reality. What worked for one person or generation doesn't guarantee the same outcome for everyone. Things change over time. Social Security is just one example. Pensions are another — a true relic in our society that only a small fraction of people still benefit from.

An opportunity that existed 30 years ago may not exist today. And some opportunities that exist today weren't available 30 years ago. The world changes.

The advantages and disadvantages we carry aren't always easily replicated or explained away. Outside of our bubbles, there are many other realities at play.