First Post

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. – George Bernard Shaw

Most people, though, seem to focus on the “finding oneself” part. They probe deep inside their minds, attempting to come up with “what they like to do” or “what they would like to do” as they plan their future careers. Although it would be ideal if one found what one enjoys doing, or what one is good at doing at an early point in life, many seem to find such a search rather difficult.

And it is only when they get a chance to look back at themselves after a long, chaotic day at work that they ask themselves: Can I find meaning in my work? Am I enjoying what I am doing? Such questions may very well bring fear, apprehension, or even regret. After all, no one would want to spend one’s life doing what one doesn’t like, or doing what others told them do.

When I look back at myself, I realize that I too was one of those people. For my past self, it was difficult to find what I really wanted to do, or what I was really good at. When faced with a career choice, I found myself too hesitant to make one, worrying that I would be filled with regret if I made the “wrong” one.

That is why Shaw’s words struck close to my heart when I first saw them. I realized that I had been fundamentally misguided in the first place, because the point was to not “find” oneself, but to “create” one. From that point on, I was determined to continually draw a portrait of who I wanted to be inside my mind, instead of vainly trying to “find” who I was.

This blog started from the idea. To make myself into a person whom I wanted to be, I decided to build myself up from the bottom, post by post.

I can only hope that at the end of this intellectual journey, I have already become that person.