There Are No Half Measures

It should come as no surprise to anyone that there are an ever increasing number of distractions in our daily lives. From Facebook and Instagram to Reddit and Youtube, it is obvious there are numerous ways to be unproductive on-line. As a result, it is not uncommon to get trapped in an infinite loop of scrolling through pictures, posts and videos without feeling any real sense of satisfaction or purpose. It’s easy to just exercise the minimum amount of brain activity needed to keep your boredom at bay. Of course, I'm also guilty of doing this, but recently I've been thinking more about the root cause behind it all.

The problem arises when you don’t know why you are doing something — you know, the time when you aimlessly pull out your phone and waste half an hour scrolling through your news feed on Facebook. This is an issue that can only be solved by taking the necessary time to plan and think before you act. You need to take that first step and determine what is truly the best use of your time, instead of just defaulting to pulling out your smartphone and playing games. More than any generation before us, we are unique in the sense that we all possess tools of great power at our fingertips, which is both a blessing and a curse. It is only natural that we are more inclined to be hasty with our actions, “googling” any idea that drifts into our mind on a whim. But, in gaining the ability to access information almost instantly, we have neglected the importance of tenacity in many aspects of our lives.

One way this problem manifests itself is through a lack of focus. For example, the average student nowadays will attempt to write an essay while concurrently having Facebook open, chatting on Skype and receiving the occasional text message on their phone.

As a result, they will spend several hours working inefficiently and perhaps only produce a few paragraphs at the end of this “study” session. It is well known that the human brain is inherently bad at mulch-tasking.

In fact, most studies have suggested that a more effective way to approach a task is by completely focusing on it for a certain period of time, usually around an hour, and then take a short break before continuing. For example, when writing an essay, it would be much more productive to check your email and Facebook at specific time intervals and not waver unless it is an absolute emergency. In my final year of college, I even went so far as to disable my internet connection in order to really buckle down when I needed to.

Furthermore, this idea of focusing your attention on one task at a time is not merely a productivity hack, but also an interesting philosophy to incorporate into your life. As such, I've recently started to be more critical of myself and always strive to think before I act. I try to associate each activity I undertake with a specific purpose even if that purpose is just something as simple as “to relax and have fun”.

This enables me to avoid situations where I'm trying to juggle multiple activities at once and end up doing a mediocre job at both. For example, I try to avoid situations where I end up watching a movie on Netflix while simultaneously attempting to read a textbook during the boring parts. What’s the point? I wouldn't get to fully enjoy the movie because I’d be worried about reading my textbook but, at the same time, I would get distracted and lose my train of thought during the interesting scenes. Instead, I simply make a decision on whether to watch a movie or crack open my textbook and do my best to commit to it.

Ultimately, the point I'm trying to make is that one should limit the number of “half-measures” they take in their daily lives and be accountable for how they are spending both their free-time and working time. So next time, whenever you choose to do something, try to dedicate at least an hour of uninterrupted time, and stick to it. Multi-tasking is far too gloried in this day and age — you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much more productive you’ll become if you live your life in a more linear fashion and develop your ability to focus. Time is only wasted when it is unaccounted for by you.

The bottom line is that as you get older you’ll realize that life is short and we only have a finite amount of time here. As such, it makes perfect sense to know exactly what we are doing with it.

Success Goggles

It is generallyaccepted that there is no consensus on what makes a person successful in this day and age. For some, success is embodied by the pursuit of knowledge while for others it is intricately tied to financial gain and so on. But determining what success means to you as an individual is usually a question which requires significant life experience to answer. Unfortunately, from a young age we are constantly plagued by conventional ideas about success which ultimately distorts our whole perspective on life.

The one example I'm sure everyone can relate to are the concepts of “grades” which are ubiquitous in education systems throughout the world. Shortly after we begin formal schooling, we’re led to believe that our mastery of a subject is accurately represented by a number from 0–100 or something similar. If we receive above a certain number multiple times, then we’re generally honoured for it by receiving shiny certificates or fancy plaques that make us feel happy in a materialistic way. But, does this really mean we’re successful? Or merely that we knew the correct topics to study, the right answers to give and the proper way to play the game?

The point here, of course, is that whether or not you consider yourself to be successful is entirely subjective. Perhaps you really focused on studying and understanding the material to achieve a high grade in which case you should feel a genuine sense of accomplishment. Conversely, maybe all the questions were unchanged from last year’s exam so you were able to ace it just by memorizing and without an iota of deeper understanding. However, regardless of how you achieved this feat you still receive the same positive result such as that lovely “A+” grade on your transcript. The problem I'm trying to illustrate is that receiving external praise tends to shift our attention away from our own ideas of success. Instead, we begin to focus on how best to maintain the psychological “high” that comes from being told we’re doing well even if it’s not based on our own standards.

This dilemma is at the heart of an issue that many young people face today. Society tends to give us sparkling accolades for certain accomplishments while completely ignoring others. As a result, we find ourselves biased towards certain jobs, college programs or even hobbies merely for the sake of maintaining this positive-feedback loop. Consequently, we tend to turn a blind eye to any other interests we might have because we have become reliant on external praise to motivate us. The bottom line is that when you are too obsessed with hearing about how well you've done, it seems ridiculous to attempt anything new for fear of failure.

I used to be one of these people. I had always achieved high grades in school, received many awards for it, and eventually found myself caring more about a number on a transcript than what I actually learned. I felt as if my happiness was contingent on continuing to achieve this type of “success” and it placed an enormous amount of pressure on me. It’s only now, once I've removed my so-called “success goggles”, that I am able to see clearly and understand that society forces us to care more about the act of succeeding than what we are actually succeeding at.

In fact, when I finished writing my first novel, I remember feeling a distinct sense of pride that usually wasn't present when I received another perfect score on a test. The interesting part was that very few people even cared about this story. No one really gave me any praise and I certainly didn’t receive any awards for it. However, the reason it was so meaningful was simply because this goal was born not out of society’s expectations but my own vision of success. What truly made me feel successful was the simple fact that I had set out on this important goal of writing a novel and had seen it through from beginning to end. This is just one example of how success can seem more real when it is untainted by external influences and instead shaped by your own passions.

To be clear, the point of this piece is not to convince you to completely disregard what society, your peers or even your family says. Instead, it is argue that a life built around an idea of success perpetuated by others is simply not sustainable in the long term. Just because you are told that you are “good” at something does not mean it is what you have to study in school, do for a career or even practice in your spare time. Eventually, you’ll realize that you cannot achieve happiness by following someone else’s vision of success. Trust in yourself and never underestimate the sound of your inner voice in a world filled with noise.

Above all, do not chose to simply allow society to dictate when you are succeeding or what is worthy of being meaningful. Success should not be restricted to conventional ideas such as receiving awards in school, getting job promotions or buying expensive new cars. It is the responsibility of every individual to formulate their own definition of success — for this is one of the first steps towards leading a fulfilling life.

It's OK to not know

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway

From a young age, we are indoctrinated into thinking that we need to have a long term plan in order to succeed. When I was a child, the most common question I remember overbearing relatives asking me was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” as if that was a pressing concern for a ten year old to have. Consequently, as I got older, I became increasingly nervous about the fact that I didn't feel interested enough about anything to see myself doing it as a career in the future. Every time I reached what I considered to be a critical juncture in my life, from what courses to take in high school to what colleges to apply to once I graduated, there was always this lingering sense of anxiety because I didn't know what it was all leading towards.

In the end, I somehow decided that being a doctor was a career worth pursuing. After all, I was certainly smart enough and my family/friends often commented that it was a very respectable and stable life for one to have. It was only by a cruel twist of fate that I was rejected from the prestigious health science program I had my heart set on and instead forced to go with my second option — Engineering. Despite my disappointment, I did not let this setback deter me. I was still fairly set on becoming a doctor and planned to just major in Biochemical Engineering and apply to Medical school upon graduating. It sounded quite easy – in theory.

However, by the end of my first year seeds of doubt were already beginning to sprout in my mind. I realized that I disliked chemistry labs, had no interest in the healthcare system and when I spoke to medical students I felt no passion towards the life they described. On the other hand, I began programming Android apps just “for fun” and came to really enjoy the time I spent at the recreational mathematics club I joined earlier in the year. The decision should have been obvious at this point — but it wasn't. It was a gruelling process plagued by heated discussions with my parents, a mountain of paperwork and constantly second-guessing myself. Nonetheless, three years later I graduated with a degree in Applied Math and Computing and I could not have been happier with my college experience.

Of course, I realize my story isn't unique but unfortunately I think the ending of it is. I've seen too many of peers become trapped in a program or job simply because they feel as if they have come too far to turn back. The truth is that most of them never opened their mind to other possibilities until, in their eyes, it was too late. We should all be extremely wary when predicting how we’ll feel about something in the future – especially young people. It seems ridiculous to me now that back in college I was effectively making a decision that would affect at least the next four years of my life based on some preconceived notions I had formed during adolescence.

The point I'm trying to make is that we need to all take smaller steps on our journey through life and update our goals as we proceed. Life is a continually iterative process — what makes you content now might not hold true in a few years. And, that’s OK. It’s OK to be uncertain about where you are heading in life — as long as you are always critically thinking about where you want to go. Every action we take provides us with information that we can use to make better decisions in future. Sure, perhaps your first job out of college didn't turn out to be your “dream career” but at least you've discovered what you don’twant to do and armed with this knowledge you’re now a little closer to finding out what does interest you.

As a disclaimer, I do want to add that you should give every new opportunity an adequate time commitment before you decide it’s just not for you. Don’t spend your whole life bouncing between careers or partners just because they seem unappealing at first. But at the same time, don’t be afraid to acknowledge when something isn't working out. It’s a fine balance which is only achieved through life experience.

More than any generation before us, our lives are filled with choices and the ability to dictate who we will become. One could argue this is both a blessing and a curse but it is important to not lose sight of the fact that a plethora of choices are available to us. We don’t live in the same era our parents did so don’t be afraid to take a more meandering path through life as opposed to a linear one. Above all, be honest with yourself about what will bring you happiness and try to filter out the external noise when deciding what course to take – you are the only person who has to live your life.