Looking back at 2016 made me realize something. My colleague once told me about career and passion. Which one do you choose, pursuing your career through passion or following any career that might compensate you well?
These choices made me thinking through about life and my personal thought on its view.
Then, came this question: What defines “you”??
Do we know ourselves? Do we pay attention to details on ourselves?
Are we defined because of our jobs? Are we defined because of our roles or position?
The problem is that sometimes we cast on ourselves “spell of illusion”. We create an illusion on ourselves, that we are so sure our personal definition is already defined. Yet we are still in progress, or even worse, we do not know where we are headed to.
Sometimes we are instilling in fear when choosing something that decisive. These fears might switch you from active into passive, from doing your passion to doing for what it is, anything that compensates. These fears made you believe all of your illusion as a reality. We create our own reality in many ways. Thus, all of these reducing your “activation energy” to the point where you are held as a prisoner by your mind.
This is where we are going to be caged by our daily activity, our routine, our “spell of illusion”
How do you live your life wide open, yet at the same time hold onto your very own core principle?
It is a learned discipline. It can be taught. It can be self-practiced. Live like a lifelong learner. Always learning something new, something unique that it is so related to yourself as a whole.
My personal advice to get it through: “Hold yourself accountable for every moment, thought and detail. See beyond your own fears. Recognize your own assumption. Harness your strength. Silence your internal critic. Correct your misconception about success. Accept your strength and your weaknesses, both, simultaneously.”
Your fears. your critics. your heroes. your villain. All of it. They are just your excuses. Rationalization. Justification. Your surrender. They are fictions you perceived as reality. They are your “spell of illusion” that might hold you back.
I had precious moments in 2016. Deliberately challenging, exhausting, yet I am so passionate to pursue my goals. By Allah’s will, there are so many accomplishments.
I believe, personally, that we are defined by our vision. It is not a matter of career only. Look inside, do you have visions of your own self?
Every great man in ancient times mastering many subjects altogether. While we are, today, only focused on what we learn in college, or formal education to be precise. In the past, a few hundred years ago, there are medical doctors who wrote history, philosophers who wrote medical science, and so on, and so forth.
I realize that these men are pursuing not only for themselves, they pursuing of the impact that might happen. That pursuit is because of the vision they had. This is the reason. I believe.
So many things that can be remembered from 2016.
This is my memories. I believe that Allah has been given us moments to be remembered so we can learn from it. We can be anything we want if we had an intention, focus and real efforts. Whatever your imagination projected in your mind, be it jobs, careers, hobby, name all of it. You can be all of it. The question is do we live up our vision as we project what we want to be into our mind? Do we take real actions?
Free your “spell of illusion” and take action.
In conclusion, “It is what you do that defines you.” -Batman-
For what 2016 has offered: be grateful.
الحمد لله على كل حال
Welcome, 2017!
Iman Adipurnama's 