Streams of Life (8)
I feel confused now. On the one hand my family has been putting a lot of pressure on me, but on the other hand I really don’t want to follow their instructions
. In their eyes it’s guaranteed that I should go for a job the moment I left school. But really, working in the office is the only choice that I can possibly make?
I have been reading Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith for quite a while now, in the book, speaking of the division of labor, the writer let me see how far I might go if I chose to work for somebody else. So I really don’t want to do it. My
friend said in the first place it’s this book that made him decide to come to China. He just couldn’t work for else anymore, for if you put yourself in the cubicle, you would never possibly get out of it. The inertia of people sometimes is immensely huge.
But I don’t know. Running a business needs capital. My friend said as a starting point we may do something together. I may avail myself of something that he may not do. If wisely chosen, two people working together always achieve more than
if they do separately. To this I am with him. And so was Adam Smith. In my eyes
, Adam Smith is a genius. He cited examples to make things so concise and plain
to understand. When I read the book, I always felt I knew what he talked about,
but still, I couldn’t help admiring the way he got his ideas across. Originally I thought the book was a rip-off, but now, definitely not. Even if the price was two times high as it is, I think I would still probably go for it.
But my family doesn’t think so, not even my sister. Ever since I came back to Shanghai, my brother home kept nagging at me on the phone about how my job-hunting went on, when my exam result would come out, and stuff like that. And he kept
complaining that I should have called my parents more often. But to be serious,
what can I talk to them on the phone? Finding a job as soon as possible is the very thing that they want to hear. I know they think for me, but what can I do about it? I can’t lie to them, given that I am not hunting for a job at all, can
I?
Anyway tomorrow I possibly will get the result of the exam. I don’t know what my final decision will be. But I do beware it’s about time to make a decision. I
have done something together with my friend during the past few days. And it’s
likely both of us will get some profit from what we have tried. But that’s not
the point, is it? You try something, and once it’s done, it’s done. You have
to move on and draw up a big picture in your mind, and fill it with stuff you want it to have. After all, my life is mine, let it good or bad, no one else can make it out except for myself.
Earlier on when we went out for a walk, my friend and I talked about it again. We all agreed that mindset is quite important, as generally it decides what kind
of person you are and you will be. Although it’s often heard that action speaks
louder than words, but how also true the opposite is. Sometimes we define people by what they say, and upon that, how they act becomes predictable. But in the
first place, it’s their mindset deciding what and how they will speak or act. So we could never be too careful about our thinking.
If we think ourselves as employees, actually we will. But if we change or rebuild our mindset, things will turn out very different in the end. At the moment, I
am not sure what I will be like, say, in five years, but what I am sure is that
I won’t get trapped. I have heard enough people whining about their life, regretting the time that had gone by. Whining and complaining is the last thing I will do.
