In Search Of Me

here's big bro today ... about career stuff ... thought may be helpful to u ppl ...

Self-discovery helps us grow up. Because growing up is more than getting taller, more full-bodied and stronger, or even becoming well stored in our heads with factual discrete pieces of information about the world. It’s about figuring out what makes us tick, what drives our passion, what our passions are, etc., and what role we can play in our community and society. The home and school are two places for young people to discover themselves. In these “supposedly” safe environments, the young person should be able to ask questions and construct answers to his/her place in life, answers which will help shape the career choices and life’s goals.

On your own, keep a journal, as suggested by Dr Xavier Pereira. Not merely of your day-to-day activities, but rather of your thoughts, how you felt, what caused those feelings, what you did in response to those feelings, etc. The journal becomes the avenue through which you exercise introspection.

The psychiatrist/psychotherapist also suggested that you find some quiet time and “be”. In our busy lives, we are always moving. It is important to be still and in the quiet hear our thoughts and listen to our own drummer.

Your parents should be a good source to provide you some feedback on how and what you are. Ask them, based on their observations the kind of person you are. Engage them in conversation. Their feedback would help you identify what you think you’re good at.

Schools shouldn’t be about pushing and cramming information into students and spending little to no time on leading them to better understand themselves.

Your education is a lot more than about multiplication tables, other formulae and capitals of cities. Your education is not the force-feeding of information with a ruler over your head and palm. I don’t know if you read in the papers recently about a group of very young students winning a competition and will be going to Australia.

These are very young students, but the work they did in preparation for the competition – building a contraption that can cushion a falling egg from cracking – helped them know what they like to do. One said he wants to become a doctor. These students were in an environment that fostered the asking of questions and tapped into the natural curiosity of human beings.

Read good books. Serious literature offers opportunities to look at human behaviour and rub against values that may differ from our received ones. Literature offers occasions to discuss, question, challenge and to formulate ideas about ourselves and our values. Reading serious fiction isn’t about remembering who wrote what, and summarising plots and remembering the settings of the tales. The same with the moral classes that are run in our schools. They should not be about the correct answers but rather the possible courses of action.

So reflect on what you’ve learned in school. They should help inform you on your career choice. A good education helps young people better know themselves, their interests, their values and helps them make better decisions about their course of study and career. Self-knowledge also benefits beyond jobs and careers.

The philosopher Spinoza writes: “The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.” And that includes yourself, your work and the community to which you belong.