🤠 The Only Two People You Need To Impress
Sunday Scoop #54 - A distillation of my research on how to plan the next chapter of my life and minimize regrets.
Hey friends,
As a big chapter in my life is coming to an end, I’ve been giving a lot of thought towards how to best write the next one.
Throughout the past couple of years, I’ve truly come to appreciate the importance of having a direction in mind to steer us towards a destination, all the while understanding that more often that not, things may not turn out exactly the way we planned. AND THAT’S OKAY.
“The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D’s!” said Twycross. “Destination, Determination, Deliberation!”
Read more about How to Apparate below.
After weeks of watching interviews of people who have “made it“, reading books and scouring articles, I’ve distilled the planning process down to The Only Two People You Need To Impress:-
Your Past Self
Your Future Self
As a firm believer that trajectory matters more than your current results, I think that thinking about how proud your past self would be with your current self is a great way to check if you’re staying on trajectory and moving towards your larger life goals.
This also comes in especially handy when something unfortunate happens to us. Things happen. As long as it doesn’t permanently affect our trajectory, the most important (and only logical) thing to do is to get ahead ASAP.
However, most of us would have the tendency to wallow in guilt and self-loathing before moving on eventually because time heals. Instead, that precious time could instead be used to get back on our feet and move forward.
Assessing our trajectory helps to ensure that we’re looking at the bigger picture.
“Life is a picture, but we often live in a pixel.”
Next, we have to ensure that we make wise decisions. (Read more here or below - one of my best performing pieces ever)
Firstly, plan out a vision for our future self. (Grades, Achievement, Relationships, etc) You can go with Pinterest Vision Board, Notion Pages, what have you.
Then, create a trajectory that’ll lead your current self to your intended destination. List down the:-
Steps you would have to take
Habits you would have to adopt
Resources you would have to scout
People you would need to contact
Finally, at every turn when there is doubt or uncertainty, ask yourself: “What can I do now that would make my past and future self proud?“
This applies to everything, big or small.
Not sure if you should take up an amazing internship opportunity with a Finals Exam approaching? Ask that question.
Feel like scrolling on Instagram and calling it a day? Ask that question.
Focus on making progress towards your goal every single day, the rest will take care of itself.
With that said, I hope that this idea that I’m sharing with you today adds value to your life in some shape, way, or form. Have a great week ahead and see you in the next issue of Sunday Scoop!
Jia Shing.