I QUIT: FEAR VS PASSION / LO DEJO: MIEDO VS PASIÓN

by Julio Morales Zaldivar
LiffeyGroup Dream Director

 NEWS

It is clear that something is failing in the education that the c.21st  generation is receiving.

Are you thinking about quitting school, high school or university? Wait a moment please...

Many smart young people are not dependent on the education they are receiving, wasting the money bothers them although it is not theirs (for some it is), they hate wasting their time and overall it is not worth what they receive in exchange for their professional future and for life itself. The matter gets worse when there is only one semester, one year or two years left to finish. It is then when it seems to be more reasonable to keep on with the suffering instead of pursuing the objectives that really matter to you. The reason, which is no more than just the saying followed by the majority “ at least get something so that you can have a future tomorrow”, but what does that “something” and that “future” mean in each student´s life?

But, wait a moment please… let´s try to give some clues or advice to those who are or would be in this involuntary dilemma. In case you are thinking that you do not like what you are doing at school/high school and university and that you do have no other choice but to quit “everything”:

1. Do not fall into the temptation of believing that everything is lost, that if you quitted you would have wasted your money, that you will never get back the wasted time. 

"Remember that the mistakes that you made in the past must never be a decisive factor when making important decisions."

What is lost is lost, what really matters is “you” because when we say “everything” that everything is you and you must never give up but rather decide or choose what is best for you whether to keep on or not. You can only do this after studying the other choices as the decision of quitting, by itself, is not a guarantee to solve your problem, you must look for some experience that is close to what you would like to do in your life. Your passion.

2. Put in your personal balance what what you are doing offers you and what would this mean in an academic sense, but overall, personal, the next step to take. In a way, education is like driving a car which can take you to many places but only if you know how to drive it and you know where you want to go or get to, we need someone to encourage us and guide us in our hopes, it is something like ,“I just drive or drive to...”. The most important thing is that you are happy, that you love what you do, how you do it and that you are passionate about it.

3. The past should never control the future. Before changing, a change is usually complicated especially at the beginning; try to see if what you do now that does not interest you can be changed. If the people responsible for your education listen to and understand your situation, including parents, not only academic people, knowing you well and knowing what you are thinking, can help to change things or in the worst case they could give you some guidelines for that important decision. If, on the contrary, they do not even “listen to you”, I mean listening without judging and in a positive way, do not think twice, you must think of getting out as soon as possible. This does not mean that you break with the world, with the educative institutions, with your parents or friends and in the worst case, with yourself, you quit but you do not quit “everything”, it is only something that,when you take the decision,will be past, celebrate it, you have just made the choice that surely will make you happier. Above all you will have decided it “yourself” and do not doubt that you are going to succeed and never feel a failure, you are someone special who wants to feel the passion of doing what you like and contributing the maximum to the society where you live, do not look back, life is always present because it is real, it is your only reality and you must enjoy it.

4. Reflections before making the final choice.

Academic training is not just one thing but a group or packet made up of different elements:

It is Knowledge

It is a social experience.

It is sport.

It is an extracurricular activity.

It is entertainment and fun.

You will have to analyze how you really value each of the elements that will be part of your training process.

Teachers: Look what you are looking for and try to index yourself to see if it is the profile you are searching for.

Social experiences: ask yourself if enjoying yourselfand meeting new friends are really important for you while you are studying.

Extracurricular activities: check what you are offered and if you really want to get involved in them.

Apart from these reflections and analysis you will have to ask yourself the key question “ Are the studies I am going to do the most effective and direct way to get my professional and personal objectives? “

Do not think that you must have a degree and that this will be your only virtue. Virtue is in persistence, unless you are persevering in the wrong direction. Recognizing the mistake must rise from the inside. Searching for something better requires courage. If you do what is not yours, do not continue, quit it.

A certificate is important, but it is more the psychological weight mostly when you are young and inexperienced and you will think that it seems like in the world there is no other way of measuring success.

We come from an education based on gold medals, marks with cold letters or numbers, honorary mentions, but nevertheless the current market is worried about values. If you have them and you can show them, what are you waiting for?

"A certificate matters at certain times, but only when you also have the skill of working in a team, and passion for what you want to do will you  get the necessary reputation to succeed."

Get up and lead the way, start writing your own story, you could also say that you are not alone, that you are not the only one or the weird one. People such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison decided to follow their ways and write a successful story.

If someone rejects your excellent reputation, your intelligence, your communicative skills, your capacity of working in a team, because you do not have a degree, that is probably someone whoyou would not like to work with.

What is clear is that you can only be in one place and this means that each time you choose, you leave many options or possibilities to one side, later the price to pay for your choice is vital. Search for the best alternative for you, for who you really are, not for someone who expects to do as others because you are unique and your passion for doing what you want will always defeat the fear of living with what you have.