Competence

Understand your surroundings. If you buy a house with a heat pump, learn to operate it and the basic theory of how it works. Read the manual. Learn to handle the common issues and basic maintenance. Even if you can’t fix everything yourself, learn what the issue is at a high level. Talk to the repairman and be curious.

Learn the basics of personal finance. Why saving in an index funds may be beneficial for you. Learn about compound interest. Learn about debt. Educate yourself about retirement plans before it’s too late. Basic do’s and don’ts. The earlier in life you start the better.

You don’t need to know everything about how the world works (and shouldn’t try to). You don’t need to know who won elections in other countries—focus on what’s close to you and what will benefit your life directly.

The more you know about what’s close to you, the less problems you’ll have.