I consider myself imperfectly imperfect. I will always be a work-in-progress and prioritize investing in myself daily.
I know a decent amount about a lot as opposed to a lot about a little. As an open-minded generalist, not a close-minded specialist, this serves me well in life, keeping me agile, and authentically me. The most highly desired jobs reward conceptual holistic thinkers with a broad range of skills and experiences. They are the kind that can be good at pretty much anything.
Recently I heard about the idea of unfollowing passion. Personally, I never felt the urge to find a definite passion, possibly due to my indecisiveness. It seemed too linear and instead Iâve always been open to trying whatever comes my way.
Although we tend to enjoy more of what we are good at, I urge you to break free from that mentality. Iâve encompassed this mindset for almost half my life and itâs allowed me to not get frustrated or take everything so seriously, especially myself if I donât perform as well as I thought I would.
This seems dangerous at first since we are always told to find a purpose, mission, adventure, thrill, and excitement in one thing, only one thing, not too many things otherwise we cannot stay focused. I understand where this methodology and line of thinking originates from yet in the grand scheme of things down the line, this adds too much-added pressure on yourself. Perfect doesnât exist nor does one formulaic strategy. School teaches us to adopt a rigid frame of mind with 1 correct answer, not the school of life.
As students from an early age, we are told to stick to one major, one area of study, and dig as deep as possible into it until we hit a wall. Since we begin our college journey/search/adventure/timeline 4+ years prior to application season, we are asked to choose an institution at age 16 where we plan on spending the next 4 years of our life and what we will do for the rest of our lives. This is beyond daunting and pretty silly. How could kids predict or plan that far in advance? I donât even know where the markets are headed, let alone what to eat for breakfast tomorrow. Even 40-year-olds change career paths 100000x times. Why canât students? Not being able to embark, explore, and experiment is the opposite of growing. Many students feel tied down to a specific major and area of study with a list of prerequisites they must meet prior to HS. No wonder many feel burnout, exhausted, alone, and take gap years as their last resort. This builds up internal pressure to be a perfectionist and to confirm what they choose today has to be set for them for life.
I was fortunate to find Gallatin, the individualized interdisciplinary school of study at NYU, a DIY exploration lab as many students call it which allows me to explore various areas of interest to curate my concentration in FinTech & Entrepreneurship. Lately, Iâve been hearing about the activity of playing and how playfulness isnât found enough in our hectic schedules. The NYTimes coined languishing as the 2021 word of the year and the idea of playfulness, getting out there, having a green thumb, and simply listening are therapeutic activities to combat this corrosive feeling. Pure bliss is the ultimate feeling I want to hold onto and Iâm glad I was able to have the option to do so. Creativity, exploration, and looking outwards into new industries is my form of learning. No one is expected to know what they want to do at 60, let alone at 16. I believe these strict measures and rules are holding future leaders back. School success is entirely different than real-life success. Donât they say A+ students donât ace life? It isnât the same path or formula. Itâs a different name of the game and a misconception many students have which is impeding them from uncovering their true potential. It is imperative, not just as kids to look outwards and always be in awe, discover, and accept being an amateur is the only way to begin. Everyone started somewhere. Without getting too technical, this approach should align closely with your investment perspective as well. Honoring patience, practicing commitment, and unwavering dedication are essential to grow a diversified balanced portfolio + life.
The Art Of Not Knowing
We are living in a 24 hr news cycle. We are not 24 hr ATM and cannot process all this information at once. In fact, the human brain can only digest 7 things at once and remember them really well. 7! Thatâs it! No wonder phone numbers are 7 digits long. Thankfully we have our elite iPhones to free some storage in our heads. Multitasking is not possible and monotasking along with soft skills are the new hidden hard skills for this reason.
Not knowing is part of learning. Experimenting, making mistakes, failing, rejection, and hearing ânoâ are unavoidable. As a student of life, I prioritize becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. This is the best time to try out everything. With less responsibiltiies and no dependents, I have nothing to loose. With an open frame of mind, you can conquer and discover yourself so much more.
Why put that pressure on yourself to know what to do? That doesnât make you better. Anyone can learn anything. Dig into the hidden soft skills or EQ and pyschological comfort to get anything in life. Passions should evolve and they do. They donât start, end or be made right away. School is the sweet spot between reaching for opportunities and unfollowing things. If it makes more sense, itâs like unfollowing someone on social media.
Speaking of stickiness, consumers are very sticky. We stick and cling onto self-help because it sells. I urge you to stop striving and following and start exploring and relish being an amateur and one for as long as it takes. No rushing. I dare you. Thereâs no better feeling than learning something new for the first time. It is exhilirating and opens your eyes to a world of possibilities and real passion not followed highlight reel superficial passion.
And the best part is, the more you know the more you know how much you donât know! That will always be the case. Donât run away from it. No one is expected to know everything. The world changes and so should our tastes.
Striking the Right Balance
What if I asked you to be more useless?
All your life you strive to please your parents and now yourself. Youâve been working in the opposite direction but that may be why you are feeling stuck and languished.
One of the greatest challenges Iâve ever embarked on was striking the right balance between enjoying an activity and feeling challenged. I sometimes want to learn something for myself, not to be seen as a tool or useful. To feel detached from goal-seeking and instead focusing on the theory of the flow-a blissful serene state of peace and enjoyment.
As the Chinese proverb: âWe can reclaim our lives, and be happier and more fulfilled if we become more useless.âÂ
Enjoy life and donât always or only strive to have a purpose or use for that matter. You donât need to maximize some utility, be seen as useful or with a straight linear goal with a passion every time. Everything you do should be useful to you not to someone else. Put on your oxygen mask before you help out your friend.
Learning something new for the first time requires you to accept it wonât be easy. Improve your life by celebrating yourself as a part of this earth. Take back your life by not feeling the need to please or be of use to someone else all the time. You are already enough.