Web 3.0, Sherpas and Habit Forming

Web 3.0 & Faith

Web 3.0 will define our future. Well, actually the jury is still out on that although I’m a believer. What’s interesting though is one of the guiding tenets of Web 3.0 which Phil Chen alluded to in a recent interview:

“Web 3.0 is a reaction to the centralization caused by Web 2.0. Centralization of data is a fundamental problem not just for technology, but also for society, politics, and religion. Web 3.0 focuses on decentralization and being open, censorship-resistant, borderless, and permissionless. In Web 3.0, people should own their data and digital assets.

The original promise of the internet was for it to be open, but in reality, we live in different walled gardens — the internet is quite closed.”

That got me thinking. Five technology companies own a bunch of our data on the internet and have largely centralized ownership and access. If self-sovereignty and decentralization are where we are headed, what parallels does it have with faith and religion?

History is strewn with examples of how centralization of faith leads to its distortion and dilution. A centralized authority is efficient and possesses organizational prowess but can it influence our hearts? That’s why our Swami Ji says asks us to discover our truth. And not discover the truth. As sovereign beings, we can have guidelines and guard rails – but our inner beings seek freedom to express, discover and create, in matters of faith, or how we interact with the internet. 

Sherpas

Year after year we read stories about skilled mountaineers scaling Mt. Everest – their accomplishments are celebrated, and rightfully so, for it is an incredible feat.

But how often do we hear about the sherpas who help celebrated mountaineers scale these peaks? 

The same holds true for our personal and professional lives. There are many – a proverbial village – that contribute to our learning, growth and well-being. How often do we remember these unsung heroes?

So what do we do? Couple of things that come to mind: a) acknowledge and celebrate the sherpas in our lives b) Pay it forward. By becoming a sherpa in someone else’s life.

Habit Forming

We may want to rethink how we frame our habit-forming goals. A study by the Journal of Consumer Research indicates as much.

Turns out that we are more likely to stick to our goals if we focus on ‘cheat days’ as opposed to ‘abide by the goal’ days.  

Two scenarios:

Scenario A: Our friend is looking to go to the gym for 20 days in a given 30-day month
Scenario B: Our friend is allowed to skip the gym 10 days in a given 30-day month

There’s a higher probability that our friend will head to the gym 20 days (or more) in a month in Scenario B, if they are told about their cheat day allowance. Call it the efficacy of positive guilt but when people frame goals around things they are not supposed to do, it makes them want to do the things that they are supposed to do with greater vigor.