Tuesday, November 19, 2013

be so good that they can't ignore you

Been feeling kinda out of sorts lately. Maybe the thought of being fully unemployed by January scares me a little. I like plans. Short-term, long-term and even to-do lists gives me a sense of assurance and completeness. Perhaps juggling school and work for the past 5 years also played a part in developing the habit of having my time planned months and weeks before. Now, January is completely blank and I can't help but to feel a little lost and... Unsettled. 

Recently I started reading a book I picked up at the fair a few months ago. Cal Newport emphasized on the importance of skills versus following your passion. He gave numerous examples of successful people who did not follow their passion or even have a passion to begin with. Instead, they worked on what they were doing and developed their passion from there. 

I found this part really true: 

' First, when you focus only on what your work offers you, it makes you hyperaware of what you don't like about it, leading the chronic unhappiness. This is especially true in entry-level positions, which, by definition, are not going to be filled with challenging projects and autonomy- these will come later.

Second, and more serious, the deep questions driving the passion mindset- 'Who am I?' and 'What do I truly love?' are essentially impossible to confirm. 'Is this really who am I' and 'Do I really love this?' rarely reduce to clear yes-or-no responses. In other words, the passion mindset is almost guaranteed to keep you perceptually unhappy and confused.' 

Guess I have quite a while to think about this if my plan A don't work out. Currently, I'm maintaining the status quo. Doing what I would usually do during holidays (plus alot more lazing around), working the same easy jobs accompanied by the few familiar faces. This is the kind of carefree and 'bummer' lifestyle I would definitely miss 5/ 10/ 20 years down the road.

Just giving myself till 2014 to enjoy this last bit of my youth. :'(


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