After
graduation, people have started to move to different cities. When we had
dinner together, which probably would be the last chance with some
people, discussions about the future were never avoided, full of hope but
also confusion. I suddenly had an idea to write this blog.
It is kind of a summary of all the conversations I
had with friends. And I have found the most important thing we discussed
is: knowing yourself.
This is an old topic, but I hope it will provide you with some inspiration.
You think you know yourself
More and more people start to search from the
bottom of their heart. Knowing yourself is like putting yourself on a balance
scale. Choosing a weight that is too heavy is just like you wanting to achieve something
with ambition, however, this task might overweigh your capability. Choosing a
weight, which is too light is like you already having some advantage while underestimating yourself.
But the reality is more complicated. That is
because by knowing yourself you gain internal satisfaction, but there are too
many variables in this process. State of mind is one of them. If you
set a high goal that is too high, you become frustrated after failure over and over again and
you might even lose self-confidence. Former CEO of GE, Jack Welch, once said, if he had gone to an
Ivy League school, he might not have the confidence he has today.
Actually, the self you know, in different
situations and environment, could turn out to be a different person. A very simple example
is international students finding themselves to be more introverted in a foreign
country.
The process of knowing yourself is dynamic. Accept
the current arrangement in your life, and from this starting point, analyze
yourself. I don't agree with the idea of "Fight[ing] until you know how awesome you
are". On the contrary, I agree with the famous Chinese news presenter Ruiying Li, "If you spend more than half of your time on a job, you are not meant for that".
Finding a proper position for yourself is more
important, no matter how different it is from what you thought and what is required by society.
Create opportunities
There are lots of things
that we want to achieve in our lifetime, but usually we can only achieve some
of them.
Even if you could not reach
your goal temporarily, the first thing you could be sure is that you are still
very lucky to know what you want and what you are good at. However, due to the
objective reasons, maybe you have to give up something, achieve other things
first and reach your goal in the long term. As an international student, this is
very important because it is much more difficult to reach your goals in a
different culture.
Polish yourself and wait for opportunities at the
same time.
I have to admit that because of the problem of
visa, international students don't have much time to wait. Preparing early,
developing the right values and using the right methodology are the key.
I like the self-introduction from Ka-shing Li. He
said "Every night he reads before going to bed. Knowledge might not necessarily
increase your wealth, but increases the opportunity. It is the best way that
you create opportunity."
If you are very clear about your goal but haven’t
reached it yet, creating opportunities for yourself is the only solution.
Take Some Risk
There is a common sense in the financial world, the
more risk you take, the more return you possibly get. Life is also like this.
I have a good friend. To get into the dream
company, she only applied for this company, only networked with the people from
this company and prepared the interview for this company. In the end, she got
the offer. Certainly there is risk involved. If she had failed, she could have missed
the job searching opportunity and have had to start from scratch again.
Knowing yourself includes knowing your risk
aversion. This is also a dynamic process. When you achieve more, you have more
tolerance for risk, the more confident you will be, which means you will also perform
better under pressure.
‘Stepping out of your comfort zone’ is advocated in American culture. This is also a way of taking risk. But I think we should take it dialectically. If you have a high tolerance for risk, it is better for you to try. But if you are risk averse, pushing yourself too much will hurt your confidence.
Don't envy what someone has, because he also bears
more risk. Be responsible for yourself.
Among globalization, I am grateful for the
opportunities the world brings to our generation. However, it raises new
challenges for us. To make a decision that we will not regret, we need to know ourselves
more clearly and have a firmer determination.
--
I am from China and have been in Cleveland for one year. I love it here, although there have been a lot of surprises. I will write about my life, including the joy and frustration that comes with getting my Masters of Science in Management - Finance degree at Weatherhead School of Management and with living in America.
Hope you can get a little inspiration from my story and make your life even more wonderful here!
