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【Personal Growth • Independent Thinking】
Author: Bella
1 Radiation range of academic qualifications
Today's sharing would like to start with the relationship between academic qualifications and personal development.
This is a group of high school students with dreams. After the college entrance examination, they exchanged their results and admission results together. They said that some of the top students performed steadily and went to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China University of Political Science and Law, and Wuhan University; some of them went to Tsinghua University and Peking University because of their abnormal performance; some top students performed abnormally and only went to an ordinary school; and some students who were not good at studying were admitted to a junior college as he predicted.
In September of that year, this group of students with dreams entered their respective universities with different moods, some were full of hope, some were gloomy, and some felt a trace of confusion in peace......
Later, 15 years have passed, and everyone's development has changed greatly: some people love academics, all the way to the doctorate, and are now engaged in academic research; some people enter the big factory, stay in the first-tier cities, every day there are endless projects, endless classes; some people have the lowest academic performance in the year, but their brains are very active, after graduation, they have started their own business, and now they are the owners of a company; some people are not interested in their majors, but they have a strong interest in painting since childhood, and later changed careers to learn painting, and now they have become a well-known painting blogger on the Internet......
Perhaps you have already seen that this ordinary and typical class is the middle school class you and I used to have, and the story of this class is played out around us all the time.
If you read this article, you may have been 5, 10, or 15 years away from the college entrance examination that year. Here, I would like to ask you a question: Now, thinking back to the time that was called "the most important exam in life", do you still think that it can determine a person's fate?
I believe that different people will have different answers to this question.
One difference is reflected in age, the older the person, the weaker the recognition of the importance of the college entrance examination. When I first entered university, I learned that a better school had better teachers and a better educational environment, and I inevitably regretted that I was unlucky or didn't work hard enough. When looking for a job, you may have a higher diploma, but when you mention your first degree, you still have to retreat for a while. Later, when I got used to the workplace and found a suitable place in life, I gradually became able to live a down-to-earth life, and rarely thought back to my achievements when I was a student.
Another difference is reflected in the gains you can get, the more a person gets now, the more satisfied he is with his life, and the less regrets he will have in the college entrance examination. If a person can only fight for academic qualifications, or hit a wall everywhere because of academic qualifications, he will naturally feel that the college entrance examination is particularly important. The more a person can achieve more gains in addition to his academic qualifications, such as successful entrepreneurship, finding his hobbies, and living the life he wants, the more he will feel that the college entrance examination is actually not that important.
2 What is more important than academic qualifications?
In our society, most people receive a linear education: study hard to get into a good university, and get into a good university to get a good job. When it comes to "good work", it seems that it has reached the end of happiness, or at the point of "good job", many people can't see what lies ahead. But does a good job really make people happy? Or before we ask about it, we have to think about another question: What kind of work is a "good job"?
For many people, a good job means stability, dignity, and a good income, but such a job may not make people happy. For example, stable jobs are often boring, and after a long time, they will feel very boring, and they are looking forward to retirement as soon as possible. Decent work tends to be more restrictive and always makes people feel involuntary, and high-paying jobs are also stressful, and the more money you take, the greater the risk you have to take.
Of course, this is not to say that a high degree and a good job are not worth pursuing. In fact, if you get into a good school or get a good job, it's something to celebrate and cherish. It's just that we can't pin all the hope of life or the guarantee of happiness on this small thing. Because the more you narrow your horizons, the more you cling to this tiny branch, the greater the risk you face.
So, what is more important than academic qualifications? Or what is it that is not limited by academic qualifications and plays a greater role than academic qualifications? In fact, there are many such things, but today, we will talk about a factor that is related to academic qualifications and similar, but it is easy to ignore: the ability to think independently.
Why talk about independent thinking, because independent thinking is far more important than where and what you learn. If a person does not have the ability to think independently, then no matter how much he learns, he is only a knowledge reserve, and no matter how much he knows, he is just a robot - he must be told what he can and what he should do, and he can only live according to a fixed program.
And a person with the ability to think independently can do anything. No matter what he learns, it is not a restriction for him, but a guide. He could study a major, but found that he didn't like it or was not suitable, and then changed careers in time to do what he was good at. He can have a lot of hobbies and interests that open his eyes and provide him with more options. He can have his own ideas and aspirations, and from there, find like-minded people with him, and do what he wants to do together.
In fact, compared with education and work, independent thinking is a more reliable iron rice bowl. Because academic qualifications represent the past, work is more or less dependent on others or limited by the environment, and independent thinking is an ability that will never disappear and will never be replaced. This ability allows people not to be trapped in failure in the face of adversity, and not to lose themselves in good times. Whether it is good or smooth, he can always stick to the path he wants to take.
3 A distant place worth going
People go forward, people go to distant places, often out of two states of mind.
One is to leave the present. Because I hate the current situation, because I don't want to live the current life, I hope that this life can end quickly, and I can immediately change the environment and change the mood. This state of mind is escapist, driven by inner dissatisfaction, pain, and anxiety.
One is to explore the future. Such a person is content with the present life. But this contentment does not leave people in the present. On the contrary, because I have tasted happiness and sweetness from my present life, I have more expectations for the future. This state of mind is anticipatory, driven by inner curiosity, desire, and enthusiasm.
Both of these states of mind are normal, because whoever wants to escape anxiety and stress quickly on a troubled and depressed day, and who feels that the future is worth running on on a happy day.
Therefore, today we are talking about two states of mind, not to distinguish between good and bad, but to say that we should manage and guide our thoughts as much as possible, so that our thoughts can be less disturbed by the environment and others, and in different environments, we can transcend the limitations of our mood and take wise actions.
For example, you can be annoyed and depressed because you failed the college entrance examination and did not go well at work, but don't always be entangled in "what will happen if I repeat my studies at that time" and "how will I live after I find this job". You have to be able to see something more important than an exam or a job, as long as this thing is there, as long as you pursue this thing with all your might, you will grow rapidly. When you grow strong and tall enough to overcome the current predicament in one step, you will find that this is not a boulder at all, but a small pebble.
People who can tolerate adversity tend to be quiet in good times. Because his hope is not given by circumstances, but from what he thinks, from the goals and desires of his heart.
When people have hope, they will never encounter a desperate situation.
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[Since you're here, don't go.] Focus on "The Vow" and let's meet again in the next topic. 】