Are you afraid of change?
Things in life happen too fast and it’s harsh to make sense of our own life in this crazy world we live in, so I decided to share a part of my personal experience that at some point became clouded even to me. It’s nice to organize thoughts and put them into words from time to time.
“This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.” — Glennon Doyle
My parents used to say that when I was little I observed with much attention everything around me, including my older sister playing, and I was fascinated with that, almost like I was watching an action movie and planning my options later on.
Over the years, I’ve come to recognize the introverted side of my personality, with my own peculiarities on top of that as well, and the enormous importance of having some kind of balance between observing and taking the initiative.
Of course, having the confidence to take the next steps based on your observations is important, but there will be times when we don’t have a clear perspective, and yet our awareness of that and our abilities to do something are crucial. Taking action is what makes the difference.
I believe that the accomplishments are the results of hard work tinged with positivity. And it takes consistent effort and often a good amount of resilience to get through the tough days or moments where things don’t go as anticipated.
“What I already know how to do, I’ve already done. Therefore, I must always do what I don’t know how to do.” — Eduardo Chilida
I worked as a Frontend Engineer at IBM in Rio — Brazil, for a few years, I usually left the company at almost midnight and lived 2 hours away from my work, it was very common to get stuck in floods and be robbed frequently, nothing is perfect, right? Don’t get me wrong, Rio is an excellent city with very friendly people willing to help, but if you visit one day, keep an eye out also preferably with someone who knows the place well, as it has been going through dark times lately.
Honestly, I really enjoyed working there, on top of all that, we had a lot of work to do, great company, and pizza. For me, this was just a perfect setting to grow as a professional. Looking from my perspective today, I learned so much from my colleagues who became my friends. Allow yourself to learn and be molded in a good way for people who cross your path and be that person who makes a positive impact on someone's career.
But over time, this all became meaningless because I couldn’t expand and learn more about my areas of interest as I wanted to. Overall, my desire to create something that had value, and encourages me to better understand the world and interact with people while solving real problems, was not being matched.
Back then, I realize I had to quit observing for a moment while keeping my ideals front and center and acting on them. Also, concentrating on my core values helped me understand why I took a risk in seeking a goal in the first place.
So I changed my job at the time, from being a FullStack developer with almost 10 years of experience to pursuing a career as a UX designer. I took my chance and accepted the risks. Like in life, but also as an UXer today, each decision should be calculated and thought through. Designers use data to make design decisions and rely on our knowledge and observation of those around us to make better design choices.
A professor of cognitive studies at Columbia University, Xiaodong D. Lin, had a lot of conversations with Nobel laureates and said “they all have insatiable passion and hunger to discover the truth about a problem. Winning a Nobel Prize was never these people’s motive for their hard work.”
Valid goals are usually motivated by something greater than success. This is not merely a moral principle, but also a practical one. The mental blocks we create for ourselves prevent us from creating our own opportunities.
How many things have not been done, out of fear, insecurity, or lack of confidence in our own abilities?
Contrary to the dreams of receiving honors, our intrinsic fundamental values are “resistant to disillusion”, as the researchers wrote in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
I find myself chasing control rather often and then remembering it’s futile — life is gonna happen anyway. It’s nice to have reminders, though. Things that help us not forget the inevitability of change.
“True generosity towards the future consists in giving everything to the present.” — Albert Camus
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