Aug 8
Rule #1: Don't freak out
When work gets overwhelming, my boss would say to me, "No freaking out." I would nod in agreement and respond, "Rule number 1", then we go on and focus on the tasks at hand.
As preparation for my new journey got overwhelming, my boss knowingly said again, "Rule applies even in Texas." I nodded again and responded, "Right." But really, what I wanted to say was, "Look, it's hard not to. It's the biggest risk I have taken in my mere 24 years of life!"
Drawing from the wisdom of various individuals over the past few weeks, I scrambled to find reasons for why I should not freak out, and here are what I came up with:
- I don't need to freak out, because my Asian roots supposedly make me less happy when decisions are made solely by me. Based on Sheena Iyengar's experiment on how we make choices, apparently Asian-Americans have a much stronger tendency to seek approval on decisions from their immigrant parents when compared to their Anglo-American peers. That explains the nagging feeling I have when making this decision - staying true to myself and my aspiration as opposed to trying to satisfy someone else's expectations. And knowing the cause of the uneasiness put me back at ease.
- I don't need to freak out, because it's harder to be kind than to be clever. As Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, learned from his grandfather, that cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. As I author my own life from scratch, I might not take pride in all the talents I have yet to develop, but I take pride in the choices I made today. Because in the end, we are our choices.
- I don't need to freak out, because advancement doesn't only happen when you're doing what you're good at. The secret to success, as shared by Danielle Laporte, is doing what you say you're going to do. We all know that in itself is hard enough.
- I don't need to freak out, because passion is overrrated. I cringe when people say to me, "Everything will be fine because you're following your passion!" Well, what if it turns out that this isn't my passion? I agree with Sacha that sometimes we put too much emphasis on waking up one morning and being swept away by some grand passion then everything in life will automatically falls into place. If passion is really built from skills and intention, good - I can do that. I am a fast learner, and with good intentions. =)
- I don't need to freak out, because Austin is weird. "Keep Austin Weird" is the slogan originally adopted to promote small businesses in the city. More importantly though, Austin is "weird" because of its creative culture in a mostly conservative Texas. I can't wait to see Amy again, my amazing couchsurfer host during my 1st visit to Austin. I'm also very excited to meet new friends like Sunni Brown and Jessica Shortall who were kind enough to reach out on Twitter to welcome me already, as well as the amazing individuals in the inaugural class of Austin Center for Design. Hey, who knows, maybe I will even bump into Esther Havens and get her autograph for Kris.
- I don't need to freak out, because we build our team by pushing each other away as far as possible. I don't know where I would be today without my team. Luckily, in contrast to most teams, we don't try to stay together. We push each other to go after each of our own's interests and dreams. We expand our team by expanding each of our own's skills, networks, geographies, and capacities. Stay tuned for stories from Vancouver, Austin, Stockholm, Singapore, or Rio, on early childhood education, interaction design, social finance, mobile development, or community engagement.
- I don't need to freak out, because when you feel your heart being pulled in a certain direction, you simply follow and don't question. "Your work is to discover your work, and then with all your heart, to give yourself to it" is the quote Ian MacKenzie followed while putting together the film documentary for the "One Week Job" project. According to dictionary.com, work is defined as "exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something". So let us do just that.
There. Look at my 17-month-old little cousin. She walks every step with a struggle. But before we know it, she'll be running. We sometimes forget that it's okay to fall.
