Hey Gang👋
I just began my undergraduate journey in Mechanical Engineering at NSS Palakkad!
After much confusion about taking a gap year to clear entrance exams for IITs, I’ve decided to continue with NSS Palakkad, which is among the top 5 engineering colleges in our state.
We had the Student Induction Program and the Orientation Classes explaining the updated syllabus (thankfully), and some celebrations, some fun and fulfilling activities.
This post is not about elaborating the program (I’ve already given the feedback to the college as “It was Nice.”), and you wouldn’t find anything about my experiences here.
But what I’ll be sharing with you this week is the thoughts I had in the past week through the new journey I’ve begun.
The lessons I’ve extracted from a new experience called college and also clearing some myths.
Let’s dive in!
It’s Not About Changing Yourself!
It’s not about changing.
It’s about improving and finding out what is worth your time and energy to explore, change your life, and get out of your comfort zone.
It quietly hides self-awareness and self-realization behind the inevitable result—a well-implemented life.
It’s about the readiness to improve that’ll put you ahead, rather than a desperate search for meaningless change.
Also,
It’s “change” from the perspective of others and it should be “improvement” from your perspective.
For you, it’s a journey, and for others, it’s different moments at different time frames.
Thus, it is “change” from others’ perspective and “improvement” from yours.
Many judge people from the contrast of the two personalities—a confident mind and a timid one.
But most don’t realize their separation is not by a line but by a gradient of ups and downs, new experiences, and mindful consistent improvements in the direction that matters most to that person.
It’s not about change.
It’s about improvement.
Everyone is Still Living Under the Sun
Sometimes we think everyone around us is better. A more confident one. A better singer or a better public speaker.
We may underestimate ourselves out of the thought of others being better than us.
Like I said in the previous paragraph, you see people at different time frames and it’s a process rather than a sudden change.
And being timid of their presence and looking at ourselves down, may put a thought in us that they are unreachable or unapproachable.
No one is big or small and everyone is on their own journey of self-discovery and improvement.
And being shy becomes a joke when the thought of improving rather than changing gets rooted inside you.
It’s okay to feel fear.
But it’s not okay to feel shy.
Guessing People is a Joke
Analyzing people, in this day and age, is kind of a joke, to be honest.
The judges become unconsciously, the least self-aware when they are carefully analyzing the details of someone else.
If you are truly self-aware and observant of your surroundings (and a good judge of people), you may realize that you pretty much can never predict what’s on someone else’s mind.
Thinking (and acting or refusing to act) in a certain way, just because the “everyone would think I’m stupid if I do this” type of thought, is a complete joke.
What’s really on that person’s mind may have nothing to do with the weird rollercoaster we’ve built up in our minds.
If you want to read more about character analysis and how it’s a gateway towards pain, check out this post:
The lesson is about realizing that our perceptions are not always right.
This is one of the lessons taught by a psychologist who gave a class on the induction program in college.
Alright guys, hope this post was insightful.
If you found value in this post feel free to share it with a friend who’s about to enter college!
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The new tagline is: “I Teach People How to Think”
I don’t know if The Mindset lives up to fulfill that but hey, maybe it’s worth it!
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Also, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments if you want to add something to the list! I’d love to read those!
Anyway, gang!
Thanks for reading👋
See you next week!
Read my other post here.
Jasir Ibrahim
The Mindset: The Ultimate Mental Growth Model.
Starting college is a big step, and I'm here to support you every step of the way. Wishing you all the best as you embark on this new journey!