Have you ever seen a bear prepare for hibernation? The bear will eat enormous quantities of food, becoming almost twice his usual size in the process. He will become quite active in this preparation period, and build himself a warm and secure den. The uninformed observer may be struck by these sudden changes and believe that the animal is about to engage in some great feat or battle. However, when winter arrives, the animal which has now become fearsomely large will simply go into his den and begin to sleep for a long period of time. All this preparation, you see, was to help him hibernate through the winter season.
The most unhealthy misconception about childhood and youth is that it is a period that must be used to determine our great purpose in life. So, when we grow up and meet adulthood for the first time, we believe that we ought to have planned the direction of our entire life. We believe that adulthood is nothing more than the execution of a perfectly made plan. We believe that those who have utilised their youth properly will naturally have a successful adulthood.
Much like the spectator who had been expecting the bear to do something amazing, we too expect amazing things when adulthood arrives. After all, what would be the point of our entire schooling and socialisation process if not to experience something great? Then, just like the spectator, those who prepare themselves and make great plans for their future will find themselves sorely disappointed when they do not experience the future that they believed that they had worked for.
As young people, we often spend the majority of our time in pursuit of a purpose. We often ask ourselves what we are meant to do with our lives. Then we prepare, plan and work towards this singular goal. As a result, if we are unable to achieve this goal, or if we no longer want to achieve this goal, we arrive at a massive obstacle to any growth. This is because we had spent so long preparing for this particular goal that we have acquired no other interests or skills to help us move on.
Thus, perhaps instead of asking ourselves what we meant to do with our lives, we should be asking ourselves what we are capable of doing with our lives.
Treat every experience as an achievement instead of seeing it as something that you can use to make an achievement. For instance, when you are studying, do not study to score good grades in an examination. Instead, study to gain knowledge.
Extend yourself like the roots of a tree and absorb as much as you can from the world around you. Try something new as often as you can, and do so sincerely. Soon, you may find that life is not all that disappointing. However, even if you do find yourself facing uncomfortable disappointments, you will have acquired enough knowledge and skills to prevent them from becoming obstacles.
