I remember a friend of mine who swore by a certain ritual that he did prior to taking any test. This is kind of an ironic memory because I was in graduate school in California and last time I checked the people in that program were otherwise very logical, rational and tended to live their lives based on evidence.
Well, I ran into this guy, and let’s call him Dave, who had this ritual that he would engage in before he took a test. It doesn’t matter what kind of test it was, he would always engage in this ritual and he would have ritual socks that he would put on. Dave, of course, did not get the memo that regardless of what you’re wearing and what kind of actions you took, you still have to know your stuff.
In fact, he believed so much in the ritual that he didn’t even bother to prepare for the tests. Well, it is no surprise to learn that Dave did not do all that well in school. I believe he graduated at the bottom 3rd or bottom 5th of our class. Not exactly a good place to be, especially if you’re looking for a job.
Anyway, I bring up this sad example because a lot of people tend to live their lives based on rituals. They think that as long as they’re putting in the time at work, somehow they will get rewarded. Well, guess what, we live in a post-mobile digital economy. I know that’s a mouthful, but the point I’m trying to make is that the jobs that you will have today will be gone tomorrow.
That’s how quickly our economy is evolving. This is not just the truth in the United States or any other kind of developed economy. This applies across the board, even in places like the Philippines, India and Siberia. You have to understand that the jobs now will disappear. That’s how quickly the world is evolving.
To adopt some sort of rigid ritual with the underlying assumption that things will not change is really a dead end, to put it lightly. You’re setting yourself up for a nasty disappointment later on. all that time, effort and focus you are investing in your ritual will go up smoke. It is only a matter of time.
Do yourself a big favor. Focus instead on proper motivation. When you are properly motivated, you increase your chances of developing a state of flow. Once you achieve mental and emotional state, all bets are off because you will be able to learn what you need to learn to stay afloat. You’ll be able to adapt and reinvent yourself, so whatever surprised life has in store for you, you will be able to handle easily.
I know this sounds too good to be true, but look at the alternative. Look at a dogmatic attachment to ritual, only to end up crashing and burning later on. that’s not going to be pretty. Do yourself a big favor. Set yourself up for success. Set yourself up for victory. How do you do this? Learn how to get properly motivated so you end up doing whatever it takes for however long it takes to achieve success.
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