Morning random thoughts, after having several conversations in the past week with different people about their careers, finding a job, doing side hustles, and on having kids:
🔵 Reduce mindless consumption. Invest in something daily that makes you grow.
You already know that consuming too many short-form videos, long-form entertainment, sugary drinks and fattening food is bad for your health. The only way to replace bad habits is to develop new ones.
What new habits? Well, you figure it out. The next 24 hours are yours to design.
Exercise. Grow your money. Buy the dip. Expand your skills. Master existing domains. Build relationships. Look for a future boss. Find something to sell. Declutter your house. Build solutions for others. Pray longer. Walk longer. Breathe better. Do a pull up. Drink SG tapwater. Cook a simple dish with low salt content!
🔵 Minimise exposure to negativity, look for the positive.
I skim through negative news headlines. I avoid reading the million stories about lousy presidents of nations. I avoid complainers and whiners.
Come on, look for the positive side of things. If your job role is becoming obsolete, your industry is shrinking, your skills are being devalued, your work is not appreciated… then ask:
Which jobs are growing in demand? Which industries need people? Which skills matter today? Which of these matches my aptitude and stamina? Who can give me an opportunity to prove my true worth?
🔵 Following average behaviour leads to average outcomes
My graduated student told me she couldn’t find a job after months of searching. As I expected, she has only been applying to jobs that her friends have been applying to. I asked, “Have you tried maritime? Healthcare? Education? Didn’t I tell you these things in April?”
Many people wants to work in the same CBD area doing the same white-collar jobs that are rapidly being automated. People don’t know these jobs are being automated because they don’t invest time to learn AI skills and to understand which job tasks can be taken over by machines.
There are common narratives that many people default to, and they all lead to the same unhappy outcomes. I know it’s easy to say “Don’t be average”, but Average exists for a reason. The challenge of life is to reject “Average” and to “Be Yourself”.
Yep, don’t strive to be “Above Average”, because it’s still on the same narrative!
“Find out who you are, and do it on purpose” – Dolly Parton.