Just do it! Yes, you already know what type of post this is. Buckle up for yet another motivational speech on how you should follow your dreams. And I know you have probably already heard this a million times, but this time it is coming from me and honestly, it’s important to hear.
So where was I? Oh yeah, just do it! I swear it is that simple. I am a firm believer in doing what we set our minds to. Not only does it build reliability and trust between people, but I feel it will also lead to a more motivated individual. By setting a goal and not allowing the million excuses that we are capable of creating get in our way, we become more encouraged for another goal since the one before actually paid off.
I suppose you could see it as either a negative or a positive loop. When we set a goal and do it, it encourages us for the next. And so around and around this positive loop grows. Alternatively, if we set a goal and don’t carry it out until the end we may start to feel that we wasted our time. For instance, if one wants to lose weight and sets a goal to work out every morning for thirty minutes, the negative loop begins on that sixth day when they tell themself they’re too tired. Feeling guilty all day, they then have a bad night’s sleep, wake up tired again and the excuse repeats. Circling lower and lower, just as positive loops form, so do negative ones.
This is why when we set goals I really can not exaggerate the significance of carrying that act through. Goals, in other words, are personal promises and just as when you break a promise with someone else, you lose trust in yourself as the promise is broken. Not only that but goals and motivation can also make your dreams come true. You can actually turn the “someday” into today.
Here’s a personal example: Last year I was majoring in industrial systems engineering. I found the major to be a good fit for my skill set, as well as a safe major to choose. The likelihood of me getting a job once I graduated was very high. Yet there was a problem, reducing costs in a factory is not my dream. My dream is to help people. Not in the sense that I wanted to be a therapist or a social worker, but instead that I would work to improve the lives of thousands through societal change. I have found problems within our society as a whole and wish to help change them for the better.
Now at first, the dream seemed like a fairy tale. The magical Jake West will float around and spread his pixie dust on the world until all of the sadness has vanished. I will not deny that at first it was a fictional story, one that had little practicality to it. A story that was simply a thought, and nothing more. Then, in one moment, no different than the moment before, that fairy tale became a reality. One day I decided I had had enough pretending like I would be okay with simply working for a paycheck. One day I made my decision, I was going to try to help the world.
Getting right to work, my first thought was what I wanted to do, followed by how I was going to make it happen. By visiting six different academic departments and switching my major more times than I can count, I finally created a plan that was logical and ideal. I am currently a major in statistics and sociology with the intention to become a social researcher in an effort to bring about political change. I knew what I wanted to do, and I made it happen.
I feel as though many of us look at this career issue the wrong way. I see a majority of students picking a logical career and then finding their purpose within it. I propose that we find our purpose and then make it logical. Without purpose, no job is logical. Without purpose comes lack of motivation for that job, and personally I do not care how much work you put into a career you have no interest in, if you do not care about your job, then the business will not care about you.
I do what I set my mind to because if I do not, then I will never do anything difficult. I will never reach for the stars, because unless I try it will always seem impossible. This is why I will say one last time, just do it. Understand that a dream is possible if you believe it is possible. Yes, you will probably have to modify this dream. Yes, you will probably have to compromise. Yes, you may get paid a whole lot less, but I truly believe it will be worth it.
At the end of your life, you are not judged by the money you make, or by the number of wins you have. You are only judged by yourself. You judge how you lived your life and what you succeeded in, that meant something to you. Pursue your dreams because if you do not then why would you have them in the first place.