HOW to DECIDE WHAT to DO?

End terms are over and so is third semester. Now, I am left with so many unanswered questions, so many puzzles to solve, with too many roads to move on, I am still confused which one is the one for me. Do I have adequate knowledge to decide? No, maybe I‘ll never know enough to be sure about one of those several paths I can walk on, but it’s not the time for excuses or procrastination, it’s the time to decide. It’s the Judgement Day. So here is a step by step analysis on “HOW to DECIDE WHAT to DO?”

As students of engineering, we are well aware of the ancient art of solving problems, whether its maths or life the principles remain the same. We start with what we are aware of (GIVEN), we move on to some logical relations (FUNCTIONS) and reach the desired outcome (RESULT). In life basic principles never change and are often pretty simple, complexity lies in our thoughts. So, what’s given in my case is basic trait of a person. Life is the best teacher; it makes you aware of all your strengths and shortcomings. So Life is our question which like any other problems contains hints and suggestions veiled in it, it’s up to you whether you notice them or not.

The most important thing about self assessment is to realize the fact that this is an assessment of how you actually are, and not of how you see yourself or want yourself to be. Our ego at times, is so high, that we can’t even accept our own shortcomings. We are too image-conscious to be truthful to ourselves. I remember once I was answering questions of Personality Test and I remember answering questions in a way I wanted things to be, so there was a question “You keep your room clean or messy?” I selected clean being inconsiderate of the fact that I was sitting on a pile of clothes. If you are likely to do the same, I can describe one of your traits as self-delusional. Moving on, using several conventional and unconventional ways I determined several prominent traits of mine. (I prefer introspection and analysis as tools for developing self awareness. Feedback is another powerful method but I tend to avoid it as I dislike the idea of people speaking shit about me to my face.)

Once you have recognized your traits and established a personality type, reconsider them. (I can’t overemphasize on the importance of being certain about the determined traits.) Follow the undermentioned steps to be sure about the attributes you have recognized:

1.        If all the attributes are positive, you need to re-consider. (Add two more traits to your list: egotistic and self-delusional)
2.        If all the attributes are negative, you need psychotherapy. (Dude, have some faith in yourself!)
3.        Get your traits crosschecked by someone close to you, well believe it or not, how others perceive you as important as how you actually are.

Once you have established the authenticity of your nature, try to find out what appeals to you. What is it you seek the most? It might be recognition, respect, money or satisfaction. A lot of people seek power and influence. Go on and ask questions to yourself, what do you want stability or adventure; what is more important job security or fat pocket?  

Now, look into various streams, what are they offering and what do they require?  Are the requirements in accordance with your traits? Are they satisfying your needs? For example:  If you seek security you can’t be a trader. Dive in and explore the jobs that suit you, There is nothing like a promising stream, there are only promising men(or women , I am not a sexist). So have faith on yourselves if you want to try something out of the box. Once you have acknowledged the path you are to traverse, forget about all others options you had hitherto. They are of no use to you now, they can only be used  for lamenting the decision you made and you don’t wish to lament, do you? The path you chose was the only path, like any other path it ends with success and all you need to do is to have faith and proceed. Chase your dreams and you will reach success.