Hi Thomas, how are you doing? I’ve been here since your “I Just Do What I Can Right Now.” That piece has stayed with me, especially today. As a young professional, I’ve been feeling lost too. I keep asking myself: Should I pivot? Should I go back to survival jobs? How do I balance passion with practicality? Will I ever find stability or build the life I’m dreaming of?
I’m in between jobs, taking free courses, and volunteering just to get my spark back. There’s so much that goes on in my head. Being the eldest and Filipino, there’s that extra layer of pressure, the weight of being the one expected to end the “sandwiching” in our generation. It’s difficult. Sometimes I end up doomscrolling instead of creating or doing the work that could move me forward. It’s hard, especially when you feel undersupported.
Still, I know we’ll do the best we can. We’ll cope. We’ll get there, to a kind of freedom where we don’t have to choose between passion and practicality. We’ll just keep working, step by step.
Thank you for your writing. It’s a reminder that even in the middle of uncertainty, we’re not alone in trying. Living up to your blog name :)
Recently, I’ve been listening to the First Love album by Taisei Iwasaki. Just putting on a pair of headphones and letting it play while doing work keeps me focused - and when feeling down - pulls me from the sea of thoughts back to the present. As Joseph Nguyen wrote in Don’t Believe Everything You Think,
"We can only see reality in the present moment and when we are actively thinking, it means we are either in the past or future (which don’t exist). Only in the present moment can the truth be found."
Reading it changed the way I deal with negative feelings sometimes.
On a practical note, someone once taught me that it’s easy to feel dejected about the future, but only because we lack the information to see otherwise. Simply put,
"You perceive the future based on what you know."
It was my second year at university. I was at a crossroads, thinking about whether to get it done or do something else which could give a greater sense of belonging and meaning. For the most part, I was contemplating alone. That piece of advice taught me to seek more information from others, and eventually, the future didn’t seem so bleak anymore.
Reading, journaling, and talking to people helped a lot. Perhaps checking out 80,000 Hours (the site or the book (it’s free!)) may give you some ideas. Ultimately (I’m paraphrasing from The 12 Week Year book),
"When you do something, something will happen. It may not be the result you want, but something will happen that guides your next step. If you don’t do something, everything remains guesswork."
Insightful. That line 'What makes you different?' realy hits. So important for self-discovery.
Hi Thomas, how are you doing? I’ve been here since your “I Just Do What I Can Right Now.” That piece has stayed with me, especially today. As a young professional, I’ve been feeling lost too. I keep asking myself: Should I pivot? Should I go back to survival jobs? How do I balance passion with practicality? Will I ever find stability or build the life I’m dreaming of?
I’m in between jobs, taking free courses, and volunteering just to get my spark back. There’s so much that goes on in my head. Being the eldest and Filipino, there’s that extra layer of pressure, the weight of being the one expected to end the “sandwiching” in our generation. It’s difficult. Sometimes I end up doomscrolling instead of creating or doing the work that could move me forward. It’s hard, especially when you feel undersupported.
Still, I know we’ll do the best we can. We’ll cope. We’ll get there, to a kind of freedom where we don’t have to choose between passion and practicality. We’ll just keep working, step by step.
Thank you for your writing. It’s a reminder that even in the middle of uncertainty, we’re not alone in trying. Living up to your blog name :)
Hi ysa,
Recently, I’ve been listening to the First Love album by Taisei Iwasaki. Just putting on a pair of headphones and letting it play while doing work keeps me focused - and when feeling down - pulls me from the sea of thoughts back to the present. As Joseph Nguyen wrote in Don’t Believe Everything You Think,
"We can only see reality in the present moment and when we are actively thinking, it means we are either in the past or future (which don’t exist). Only in the present moment can the truth be found."
Reading it changed the way I deal with negative feelings sometimes.
On a practical note, someone once taught me that it’s easy to feel dejected about the future, but only because we lack the information to see otherwise. Simply put,
"You perceive the future based on what you know."
It was my second year at university. I was at a crossroads, thinking about whether to get it done or do something else which could give a greater sense of belonging and meaning. For the most part, I was contemplating alone. That piece of advice taught me to seek more information from others, and eventually, the future didn’t seem so bleak anymore.
Reading, journaling, and talking to people helped a lot. Perhaps checking out 80,000 Hours (the site or the book (it’s free!)) may give you some ideas. Ultimately (I’m paraphrasing from The 12 Week Year book),
"When you do something, something will happen. It may not be the result you want, but something will happen that guides your next step. If you don’t do something, everything remains guesswork."
Thanks for reading and telling me what you think.
Welcome to the club, and all the best :)