Thank you so much for sharing this with us and investing time in writing this. I found this really insightful and helpful, and I can empathize with a lot of what you’ve felt throughout this journey.
”I’m sad that I’m not better or smarter than I grew up hoping I might be.” I feel like this is a thinking pattern that many people from our generation have, which is problematic because it’s a fact that not everybody can be the most X person in the world, be it most impactful, most beautiful, most talented, or most wealthy. I feel it’s also not true on an individual level; we tend to estimate our potential self while neglecting vital personal preferences—some of us just want to work less than others. and while for some people it feels good to work all the time, for others it’s demotivating and depressing, and they are much happier when spending more time with friends and family, or watching Netflix on weekends instead of working and studying diligently.
One of the biggest struggles for me, and I would assume that’s true for other people too, is that it can prevent us from noticing and celebrating our own progress because it always feels that we’re still miles away from the finishing line—We’re not fulfilling our potential. Then we’re demotivated, and that surely doesn’t help.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us and investing time in writing this.
I found this really insightful and helpful, and I can empathize with a lot of what you’ve felt throughout this journey.
”I’m sad that I’m not better or smarter than I grew up hoping I might be.”
I feel like this is a thinking pattern that many people from our generation have, which is problematic because it’s a fact that not everybody can be the most X person in the world, be it most impactful, most beautiful, most talented, or most wealthy. I feel it’s also not true on an individual level; we tend to estimate our potential self while neglecting vital personal preferences—some of us just want to work less than others. and while for some people it feels good to work all the time, for others it’s demotivating and depressing, and they are much happier when spending more time with friends and family, or watching Netflix on weekends instead of working and studying diligently.
One of the biggest struggles for me, and I would assume that’s true for other people too, is that it can prevent us from noticing and celebrating our own progress because it always feels that we’re still miles away from the finishing line—We’re not fulfilling our potential. Then we’re demotivated, and that surely doesn’t help.
Thanks! This is an interesting point, and I’ll mull on it.