Serious is not even enough
And the valley of superficial efforts
Recently, under the bombardment of rejected emails from employers, academic pressure, and primarily through observation, I've come to realize that, no matter how seriously I see things, it does not seem enough.
I'm a (slightly) perfectionist, so everything that I do requires attention to detail and a serious attitude from both myself and the people who I work with. As I believe in the saying
How you do anything is how you do everything
Precious things have their limits, so if everyone is serious, then who gets the treat?
This thought somewhat reminds me of 's article, the main idea being that focusing alone is not enough; what takes us far is attention. Although the meanings are different, in the context of this article, I refer to seriousness and focus interchangeably.
The discipline in how you do things to me is not binary, (either doing nothing or serious), but rather a bumpy ride.
Seriousness can only take us so far, into the minority of whatever we're doing. It's great that you've made it this far, have a round of applause, and please take credit for yourself. 💪
The valley of superficial efforts
Most people to me are stuck at what I call "The valley of superficial efforts", where they have the courage to begin, but lack focus, consistency, motivation, or whatever reasons that keep them away from the first milestone. 🚗
I applied for a position at Nokia Finland recently. With relevant industry experience, 3 days of crafting the cover letter and polishing the resume, hitting that "Submit your application" button, I was sooo confident in stepping one foot into corporate life.
Until I realized myself was part of ~4500 applications.
What is even worse is on an excursion to Nokia HQ (Espoo), with a bunch of fellows who also applied for that position, observing people, it became clear to me that EVERYTHING I do was the least required to get the slightest chance of having an interview.
There's literally nothing that sets mine apart from all these applicants.
Oh sh**, people here take it extra serious 😰
And my stupid face at that time
So how serious does a person need to be?
This article cannot give you the right answer.
However, there's a way I often use to measure my own dedication. I often observe the group that shares the same goals as me, and when the majority of them appear casual in my eyes, I know I'm closer to whatever achievement I'm heading toward.
🤔 You’re doing great, just look out for "The valley of superficial efforts", and give things that matter a bit more attention, so your previous efforts won't go to waste.
That’s it for today, thanks for being patience with me. I really really hope to see your thought on this under the comment section. 🤗
📌 Disclaimer: This mindset is only suitable for me at the current time. To seek motivation, maybe a bit extreme, but consider it a good struggle. Everyone needs moments of rest, times when they do nothing.
#WOTN5
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