One would imagine that as a kid, you have everything pretty much figured out. At least, you think you do. At least, that's what the media and society wants you to believe. So that you don't actually go and question anything. Feel free to disagree, but here are 5 notions that are complete bullshit that we are wasting our time pursuing:
5. Who "you" are
The concept of oneself wasn't around forever. Think about it--back in the days of plague and whether or not you are going to be the next sacrifice, you didn't really have time to think about who "you" are. At least, you wouldn't have dwelled on it for too long. The thing is, you're defined by what you do, which means you should, ahem, do things. Live life. Try things, rather than try to put a label on yourself. Discovering yourself really just means what you tend to do, for reason of value, or practicality or whatever.
4. Your "passion"
The concept of "passion" in terms of a job probably didn't exist until Generation Y people. Before then, people didn't give a shit whether or not they liked their job--they just did it to survive. Plus, if human beings are meant to adapt, doesn't that mean that technically, we can adapt ourselves to "like" whatever kind of job we do? Perhaps it's simply this concept that if only we could find a job where we belong, then we'd be happy. But in reality, the most successful people had worked on a skill for a long time, got good at it, and it became their passion. It's not really something you can decide deadset before you're a professional. So all those wannabe actors? Think twice about whether or not acting is your true passion, or if you just have this romanticized image of Hollywood prestige.
3. "Happiness"
The Founding Fathers wrote down that everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness. There's a reason they didn't say happiness. Happiness has always held a different definition throughout history. Nowadays, people have their own opinion on what it is, so it's all scattered about. But you've probably heard that it's all about the journey, not the destination. Because as soon as you reach the destination, guess what happens? You either have another journey lined for you, or you die. So, to think that there's some "happiness" that you just need to find locked up in a box is ridiculous. If anything, simply looking for things and doing fun activities makes you not even pay attention to whether or not you're happy. Maybe the real problem is that we're just fixating on the concept too much that we worry.
2. The "one"
I'm going to give it to you straight--the "One" has never existed and never will actually exist. If we're to believe evolution, you're supposed to have multiple sexual partners. These people who believe that "there's someone out there for everybody" are wasting their time. Odds are, they're looking for some Prince Charming or Megan Fox who has absolutely no flaws about them to come up to them and tell them they just click. Maybe that can happen, but to rely on it? That's Hollywood bullshit magic. The thing is, the "One" is only labeled after a couple gets to know each other. It's a matter of survivor bias, from what was in fact a pretty much a game of randomness. In fact, one of my friend's parents met because he was supposed to take out one girl, but since she was sick that day, he took out her roommate. You could spin this off as "well, it was meant to be" but I call horseshit. You see people in unhappy relationships, single-for-life people. If the "One" is supposed to be a thing, then very few people actually achieve it.
1. The "right" opportunity
There are some people who tell you to be patient for your time to shine, and I partially agree. However, sometimes, these "times to shine" don't have to be completely out of your control. It's like the difference between being a general hero like being involved in a charity, or being a spontaneous hero where you save a person from getting crushed by a falling piano. The latter, you can't really control, nor should you spend your time looking for suspended pianos whose suspension strings might break. But you have the opportunity to sign up for a charity whenever you like. Same with talking to your crush. Sure, you might feel hurt, but you'll still keep on living afterwards. Obviously, you gotta calculate your risks, but prioritize whatever risk you take in if it has a chance of going wrong in a way that you could be permanently damaged. Also, always have a Plan B, because otherwise beating down on yourself might just be your default backup plan.
