So, I am a 21 year old man currently working on my bachelor's degree in computer science. I have been trying to convince myself for the last seven months that I like it and that I will get this fancy programming job when I am done, but I can't do it anymore. Even though I probably could push myself trough the remaining 2 and a half years I don't really want to work with computers and would probably be miserable. I have pretty much already made up my mind about quitting which brings me to the real problem. I don't know what I want to do with my life. It's like I have been told by society and everything around me what to do and what to aim for my entire life, and by trying to live up to these expectations I have lost track of who I am and what I want.
I really want to get to know myself again so I came up with this idea of making a list about me. The general idea is for it to help me choose a new career path, but also to get a view of who I am from a new perspective. I have divided it into two categories: things about myself, and what I like/have an interest in. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me come up with more questions to ask myself. I want to make it clear beforehand that I do not intend to provide an answer for any of the questions you ask in this thread (except maybe if they are really funny) and don't feel discouraged to ask sensitive or private stuff, it's what the list is for.
What I got so far:
I am an ambivert person.
I am heterosexual.
I am an atheist.
I am politically neutral or don't really like any of the current parties in my country.
I have an interest in food and drinks.
I am interested in human biology, physiology and medicine.
I have an interest in certain parts of human history.
I like to read books.
I like to watch movies.
I like to work out.
I like to work with my hands.
I like to help other people.
[editline]
I realize now that I might have phrased my post in a stupid way. I'm not depressed and I've already made up my mind about the degree. I simply want questions to ask myself in order to determine which career might suit me.
[QUOTE=maeZtro;46892102]Who am I?[/QUOTE]
Jackie Chan
Sometimes, what you should do in life might not be what you like or wanted to do, but what you should do in your current stage in life.
Its great thing if we had some specific thing that we wanted to and can do, but there's nothing wrong with having nothing specific either. Living day by day, without some grand goals to change the world is fine as it is. Not everybody had the chance to be the next living legend.
Who you are now is not necessarily determined by what you do/work as. You are what you are now, shaped by multitude of things from outside and inside. The result is your current self, in the mirror, right now.
Just finish what you are doing right now, and take up any chance that came across later. Don't let your heart/emotion set up illusions that might leads to your downfall. Whats important comes first (qualification, money, shelter), THEN self-fulfillment (entertainment, passion, durgs)
[QUOTE=onebit;46892137]You're fucked. Honestly, nature itself is made for powerseekers, go against that and you'll have a fight you couldn't win for another thousand years.[/QUOTE]
Jeg forstår hvad du mener men jeg synes ikke det er et problem. Helping other people makes me feel good about myself but that doesn't mean I don't "seek power" myself.
[editline]9th January 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=hakimhakim;46892304]Sometimes, what you should do in life might not be what you like or wanted to do, but what you should do in your current stage in life.
Its great thing if we had some specific thing that we wanted to and can do, but there's nothing wrong with having nothing specific either. Living day by day, without some grand goals to change the world is fine as it is. Not everybody had the chance to be the next living legend.
Who you are now is not necessarily determined by what you do/work as. You are what you are now, shaped by multitude of things from outside and inside. The result is your current self, in the mirror, right now.
Just finish what you are doing right now, and take up any chance that came across later. Don't let your heart/emotion set up illusions that might leads to your downfall. Whats important comes first (qualification, money, shelter), THEN self-fulfillment (entertainment, passion, durgs)[/QUOTE]
That is a good point and I guess it's kind of a first world problem I am having. Many people don't have the privilege to choose what they work with. It's just that I don't want to look back on my life regretting that I spent so much time on something I didn't like.
[quote] I am interested in human biology, physiology and medicine. [/quote]
[quote] programming [/quote]
These things are very interrelated right now.
Do not make big decisions when you are depressed, it will only make it worse.
[QUOTE=onebit;46892137][QUOTE=maeZtro;46892102]I like to help other people.[/QUOTE]
You're fucked. Honestly, nature itself is made for powerseekers, go against that and you'll have a fight you couldn't win for another thousand years.[/QUOTE]
2edgy5me
Honestly everyone who says shit like "Its okay to be an asshole because Natural Selection." has no idea how nature works at all.
[QUOTE=maeZtro;46892102]So, I am a 21 year old man currently working on my bachelor's degree in computer science. I have been trying to convince myself for the last seven months that I like it and that I will get this fancy programming job when I am done, but I can't do it anymore. Even though I probably could push myself trough the remaining 2 and a half years I don't really want to work with computers and would probably be miserable. I have pretty much already made up my mind about quitting which brings me to the real problem. I don't know what I want to do with my life. It's like I have been told by society and everything around me what to do and what to aim for my entire life, and by trying to live up to these expectations I have lost track of who I am and what I want.
I really want to get to know myself again so I came up with this idea of making a list about me. The general idea is for it to help me choose a new career path, but also to get a view of who I am from a new perspective. I have divided it into two categories: things about myself, and what I like/have an interest in. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me come up with more questions to ask myself. I want to make it clear beforehand that I do not intend to provide an answer for any of the questions you ask in this thread (except maybe if they are really funny) and don't feel discouraged to ask sensitive or private stuff, it's what the list is for.
What I got so far:
I am an ambivert person.
I am heterosexual.
I am an atheist.
I am politically neutral or don't really like any of the current parties in my country.
I have an interest in food and drinks.
I am interested in human biology, physiology and medicine.
I have an interest in certain parts of human history.
I like to read books.
I like to watch movies.
I like to work out.
I like to work with my hands.
I like to help other people.
[editline]
I realize now that I might have phrased my post in a stupid way. I'm not depressed and I've already made up my mind about the degree. I simply want questions to ask myself in order to determine which career might suit me.[/QUOTE]
From my own experiences, trying to define yourself by likes/dislikes and personal beliefs doesn't work out that well. You might think you like to work with your hands, but if you define that as part of your personality you'll start to dislike work that isn't as physical because you believe that it doesn't fit your personality.
Defining "who you are" by tenuous likes and dislikes makes rationalization easier, especially when they're as vague as what you've come up with.
Don't verbify your personality - those are things that you do, not things that you are. You aren't what you do - if you start gripping to these things as "who you are" you're going to hurt yourself when you inevitably fail. Suddenly, the reason your relationships keep failing is because you're just "not a very romantic person." The reason you don't do anything when you get home from work is because you're "not self-motivating." The reason you don't like to go out with friends is because you're "introverted" or "awkward."
That's all bullshit rationalization. You could be a romantic person if you wanted to, but once you set "not romantic" in stone as part of your personality, you effectively say "this is how I am and I can't change it." Don't do that - any and every aspect of your personality is subject to change at the drop of a pin, and if you've already determined that you're not willing to change and adapt to take advantage of that, then you've fucked yourself. You are you - what you like or dislike, what you believe in or don't believe in, how you act or what you do, none of those determine who you are. You're you - and you know who you are already. Don't try to list it down, because then you'll just rationalize the bullshit internal fears you have as "part of your personality" and stall your own personal growth. If you're going to list it down, be objective enough to say "I can fix that," and then do that.
[QUOTE=.Isak.;46896822]From my own experiences, trying to define yourself by likes/dislikes and personal beliefs doesn't work out that well. You might think you like to work with your hands, but if you define that as part of your personality you'll start to dislike work that isn't as physical because you believe that it doesn't fit your personality.
Defining "who you are" by tenuous likes and dislikes makes rationalization easier, especially when they're as vague as what you've come up with.
Don't verbify your personality - those are things that you do, not things that you are. You aren't what you do - if you start gripping to these things as "who you are" you're going to hurt yourself when you inevitably fail. Suddenly, the reason your relationships keep failing is because you're just "not a very romantic person." The reason you don't do anything when you get home from work is because you're "not self-motivating." The reason you don't like to go out with friends is because you're "introverted" or "awkward."
That's all bullshit rationalization. You could be a romantic person if you wanted to, but once you set "not romantic" in stone as part of your personality, you effectively say "this is how I am and I can't change it." Don't do that - any and every aspect of your personality is subject to change at the drop of a pin, and if you've already determined that you're not willing to change and adapt to take advantage of that, then you've fucked yourself. You are you - what you like or dislike, what you believe in or don't believe in, how you act or what you do, none of those determine who you are. You're you - and you know who you are already. Don't try to list it down, because then you'll just rationalize the bullshit internal fears you have as "part of your personality" and stall your own personal growth. If you're going to list it down, be objective enough to say "I can fix that," and then do that.[/QUOTE]
I get what you are saying and agree with it to some extent. There are some traits that you are born with and can't change about yourself though, such as intro/extroversion. I could for example make myself spend a lot of time around large groups of people with little to no alone-time, but in the end it would just make me tired and miserable because I am genetically hardwired to require quite a lot of time to myself.
Perhaps making a shallow list of what I like/dislike and as you say "verbify" my personality is more damaging than helpful though. It really is possible to do almost anything if you just put your soul into it, and becoming better at something might change the way you think of that particular task. Anyhow, thanks for your thoughts.
Johnny the tackling Alzheimer's patient?
[QUOTE=maeZtro;46897069]I get what you are saying and agree with it to some extent. There are some traits that you are born with and can't change about yourself though, such as intro/extroversion. I could for example make myself spend a lot of time around large groups of people with little to no alone-time, but in the end it would just make me tired and miserable because I am genetically hardwired to require quite a lot of time to myself.
Perhaps making a shallow list of what I like/dislike and as you say "verbify" my personality is more damaging than helpful though. It really is possible to do almost anything if you just put your soul into it, and becoming better at something might change the way you think of that particular task. Anyhow, thanks for your thoughts.[/QUOTE]
I totally understand that feeling - I was homeschooled for 13 years with next to no social interaction and I had always been a huge bookworm who loved to spend time alone. Any time I had to socialize, I would be exhausted in a couple hours and just feel tired and awful. I was convinced I was just a natural introvert. After fast-tracking my social development in the first few years of high school, I started doing stage plays and acting on film. I learned extroversion. I honestly can't say if I'm more comfortable alone or with other people - I like both. If I'm sitting alone playing a game for hours, I'll lose energy and feel shitty. If I work alone on something I really care about, I get energy. If I'm with friends I care about and enjoy being with, I get energy. If it's people I don't care about who annoy me, I want to go home and I start feeling tired and aggravated.
I'm a firm believer that people put too much emphasis on introversion/extroversion - you get energy when you spend time doing things you care about. If you define yourself as "introvert," you rationalize that you're "just bad at socializing." Instead of trying to improve, you just go "that's just how I am." Any and every aspect of your personality can change - it just takes effort, and it's too easy to wave away that effort by rationalizing that it's an unchangeable trait.
I think this is a question we all ask ourselves once.
Just once.
[QUOTE=onebit;46892515]Of course, power is necessary in order to survive, but the majority have no sense of proper power usage. Honestly, if you believe in reincarnation (which I do), death is a very viable option. Don't like the current progress? Load a previous save! :D[/QUOTE]
You shouldn't go in to a thread about someone being depressed telling them to kill themself.
[QUOTE=maeZtro;46892102]I am an ambivert person.
I am interested in human biology, physiology and medicine.
I like to work with my hands.
I like to help other people.[/QUOTE]
Judging by these alone it sounds like you should want to be a doctor.
If you're creative, how about you give writing a shot, seeing as you like to read book. Maybe cooking is something you like as well, won't hurt to try. Both jobs can take up a lot of time though
[QUOTE=Kirbyfactor;46898034]If you're creative, how about you give writing a shot, seeing as you like to read book. Maybe cooking is something you like as well, won't hurt to try. Both jobs can take up a lot of time though[/QUOTE]
As an avid reader - writing and reading don't relate. It's the difference between watching a movie and making it or playing a game and programming it. Writing's absurdly difficult and it's impossible to sustain yourself with it unless you're a marketing guru or incredibly lucky.
Cooking's a great suggestion, though - if you like doing stuff with your hands, throwing on some music or a podcast and cooking dinner is one of the best things in life.
[QUOTE=onebit;46897474]But you're guilty of this every day. Do you not eat living beings? Do you not seek pleasure?[/QUOTE]
Symbotic relationships.
Humanity has a natural urge to help humans, it's how we, I dunno, got as far as we did? I wasn't aware that humans ate humans on a regular basis
Join the Club, most people end up doing something different to what they originally intended.
[video=youtube;L2Wx230gYJw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Wx230gYJw[/video]
If you're interested in Medicine/biology etc, and if you have 2 1/2 years to finish a computer science degree, then you probably just gone done with most your basics, so instead of taking full computer classes, try taking some medical classes, see if that's what you like.
Earlier there was advice at sticking to it and getting a good paying job, but the medical field IS a good paying job, and if you have the chance to get a job in the hospital now, they would probably pay for your college (if that's a problem).
The average college student is said to change their major 4-5 times before finding the right one. You have time to look into your interests before fully committing to your current degree. It's actually unhealthy for your body to do something that makes you miserable for the rest of your life.
[QUOTE=Coyoteze;46897995]Judging by these alone it sounds like you should want to be a doctor.[/QUOTE]
Barring the excessive amount of schooling to become a doctor, he could consider becoming an EMT.
[QUOTE=Apache249;46903657]Barring the excessive amount of schooling to become a doctor, he could consider becoming an EMT.[/QUOTE]
I have never thought about becoming an EMT before, I will definitely check it out.
Why be an EMT when being a doctor comes with a lot more status and money?
Well you could try to be a personal trainer since you like to work out and help people, why not help people work out?
[QUOTE=w00tf1zh;46904474]Why be an EMT when being a doctor comes with a lot more status and money?[/QUOTE]
I am trying and have been trying for a year to get into med school. The thing is, I need to get a really good result on högskoleprovet which can be quite tough, so I need to do something else until then. If I study something that is closely related to being a doctor, I will have more use for the things I learn when I become the real deal.
onebit, do everyone in this thread a favour and reload a save, please. hopefully you'll reincarnate as less of an ignorant jerk. or be born again with some common sense.
[QUOTE=maeZtro;46892102]Who am I?[/QUOTE]
You're Jean Valjean.
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