Living up to other people's expectations

by MulaiAzhagi Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:09 am

His entire life, he had been told that he was a math whiz. But at some point, he began to resent the work required to live up to other people’s expectations. Eventually, the resentment boiled over: he was through with math.

My advice for side-stepping this problem is both easy to understand and hard to put into practice: figure out what you really want to accomplish at college, then choose your path based on an honest answer to this question.
To help you ponder this prompt, keep the following cautions in mind:

Don’t major in chemical engineering to please your dad. As I’ve discussed before, allowing other people to influence your choice of major can sap your motivation.
Don’t take on ridiculous course and extracurricular loads because you feel like impressing people with the hardness of your schedule is what makes you special. It’s not. It’s just diligence. And in the end, people don’t care that much about diligence, so you might as well use your weekends to nurse hangovers with friends.
Don’t major in business because you think it’s “practical.” Your theories about the importance of various majors are probably wrong, so your best bet is to excel in something you like.

There’s a lot more to be said on this topic. For example, it’s important that you don’t mistake serious mental issues, such as depression or anxiety disorder, for deep procrastination. With this in mind, if you find yourself unable to work, always talk to one of your college’s counselors as part of your recovery effort, just to be sure that something else isn’t lurking. (It’s not a big deal, they don’t bite, and they love when students come in to chat.)

But the most important advice here is to avoid this mess altogether by taking the time to answer, on your own, the important questions about what you’re really trying to accomplish with your college career. After that, do your best to keep your choices consistent with this answer.
It’s an obvious idea. But trust me, it can prevent some serious problems.

http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/02/16/the-danger-of-deep-procratination/

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:28 am

I don't fully concur.

It is correct one should not do a major bcz of external forces, and not do UG in business.

But, one should not do simply the minimum required credits for a degree if one needs to advance much farther. if a person is interested in a few other subjects, then should take those courses while focusing on the major of main interest. much of the world realizes and appreciates someone who exhibits varied interests and the ability to inter-relate them.

Living up to other people's expectations

Living up to other people's expectations

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