Before reading the article, we invite you to click "Follow" in the upper right corner. It is convenient for you to view more high-quality articles at any time, and it is also convenient for you to participate in our discussions and sharing.
【Workplace Work and Goals】
Author: Bella
1 The "glorious past" of middle-aged professionals
When young people first enter the workplace, they will meet some particularly powerful seniors in the workplace. These people seem to be enthusiastic and generous, and often share with young people what big projects they have done, how many great people they have met, and how many important occasions they have experienced.
After listening to this, young people are not only envious, but also feel that it is really a special luck to have a senior who is willing to share their experience with them. So I made up my mind to have a good relationship with the bigwigs and learn more from them.
However, it doesn't take long for you to find that you ask them to tell you about their experience, and they are very happy that you really have something to ask them for, and they say that they can't do it, or let you try it yourself, or give you some chicken soup for the soul that doesn't really work. In short, it's not that they don't help, but your problem doesn't seem to be in the area where they can help.
When I was younger, I had this experience too. At that time, I also especially admired those "big guys" who had glamorous experiences, and by chance, I met a teacher.
The teacher often shares his success story with young people: when he was young, he worked in an important department. One day when he came back from a business trip, he saw a letter on his desk, opened it and saw that the leader asked him if he would like to be seconded to work in an overseas international organization for a period of time. He happily agreed.
Naturally, there are some things that cannot be touched in daily work during the time of secondment. Whenever he talks about these things, he is very proud. After the secondment ended, the leader of the original unit asked him if he wanted to return to the unit or if he wanted to work at the school. He said that he didn't like officialdom and loved academics, so he chose campus.
You see, is he a model in the hearts of young people who is knowledgeable, has experienced legends, and is indifferent to fame and fortune? In fact, at that time, everyone who knew him thought so. So there is always no shortage of students and followers around him.
But after a long time of contact, I gradually realized a different him. For example, he hardly updates the courseware in class, and lectures on a courseware for three or five years, never adding new hot spots, and his courseware is still made by students for him. For example, when other scholars and professors have academic seminars, they will not call him, although he has said that he does not like to be lively, but when there is an important meeting, few people will call him to participate. For example, when he said that he was seconded to an international agency, he did a lot of important work, so it stands to reason that many people should know him, or the agency will keep some documents that he handles, but some friends who work there say they have never heard of this person.
These new realizations made me and a few friends have some doubts about him, but his image is too bright to shake our trust in him.
But later, he was involved in academic fraud, and we learned that many of his papers had students involved, but he did not add the names of students.
Later, I talked to an older friend about the teacher's experience. The older friend, who was very smart, listened quietly to my sentiments and asked me, "Have you ever thought that many of the things he says are contradictory? If this is really a very good thing, why didn't the leader talk to him face-to-face, but didn't say a word and just left a letter? If he was really outstanding when he came back from secondment, why didn't he just give him a promotion, but only said that he stayed in his original unit and gave him an option to go to school?
This friend's words made me realize at once that there were too many halo filters in his image. These filters are not without flaws, but young people always want to see such light, and with their lack of experience, they naturally believe what he says.
2 New Insights
When I saw his aura filter, I had a new question, why did he say that, or rather, why did he say this to the young people around him?
The reason for this problem is that for him, young people cannot bring him benefits. In his dealings with him, all the young man can do is to worship him, praise him, and listen to him talk about his past, which can neither solve his difficulties nor bring him any benefits. Then why did he like to do such a thing that could only satisfy his heart's fantasies? As if the more he spoke, the louder the admiration of the listeners, the more he believed that he was seconded and reused, and the more he believed that he had done many great things.
However, thinking about this, I suddenly realized that maybe that was what he was for. Or, the word "purpose" is not accurate, but should be "latent motive".
He said this to young people not to get any practical help, but simply to gain appreciation and admiration. In this kind of appreciation and worship, in the exclamation of young people, he seems to have really gained the image of knowledgeable and noble character that he has always longed for. He has created a kind of light, and young people believe in this light, between shaping and believing, he can forget his real unwillingness, he can not examine his own darkness, shortcomings and weaknesses, he can not face his own struggles, entanglements and pain, but only need to believe that he is really so good, he really made his own choice because of indifference to fame and fortune, and he really has a very glorious past.
He may not have realized why he said this, or he would not have thought about it. It's just that the illusory self has become a habit, and he can only feel the glory of the past from the imaginary past. But this "former glory" was made up by himself.
So do you say that his experience is all fake? Can he make up so many things that he hasn't experienced? No, that's not the case. The secondment is definitely seconded, and the participation is definitely involved. I have been to many important occasions and seen many important things...... These are certainly true. But these are not because of how capable he is, not because he has done anything, but because he happened to experience it, because he was in that occasion, that position, and that environment, so he naturally saw and heard it.
It's like the police are catching a thief, and you happen to pass by and witness the battle of wits between the police and the thief. But no matter how brilliantly you speak, you are just a bystander. It's just because you happened to be passing by that you saw it. It's not because of how good you are, and it doesn't mean that you're involved in catching thieves.
3 Young people, dare to walk the way worth taking
I want to share these with you today to encourage young people who read this article to learn to distinguish the "halo filter" of some seniors in the workplace and dare to recognize some deep-rooted illusory images.
We want to do this, dare to do this, because we know it. Don't look for the future in people who don't have it, don't look for hope in the illusion that there is no hope.
A person's future and hope are not in the brilliant experiences of others, but in the fact that this person is a person with faith and hope. He has convictions, he knows what he wants to do and what he is doing, so he doesn't need to judge whether what he is doing is feasible with other people's words and experiences, he just needs to turn the blueprint into reality at his own pace. He has hope, he has what he wants to achieve. So he doesn't need to hide behind authority, but needs to walk ahead and run straight towards the benchmark.
Only those who have a future can make things that have a future. Such a person is determined and energetic when he is young, and in middle age he will have insight, stamina, calmness, and contentment.
Such a person does not need to deliberately increase the glory of the past, so that he can find compensation in regret, because he has a future, he has hope, no matter what age he is, he will one day overcome the sky of new life, he has a future to run.
Come on, young people, there is still a long, long way to go, and there are many, many more happiness that you can meet.
Thank you for reading. If the article is helpful to you, click "Like" and "Bookmark", or repost it for more people to see. 】
[Since you're here, don't go.] Focus on "The Vow" and let's meet again in the next topic. 】