Part 2 of 4 –18 Medium articles I curated
Part 2: 10/18 Medium Articles I Curated In A List for Me, And My Takeaways
Amazing articles that serve as reminders and others providing insightful food for thoughts
Over the past month on Medium as an avid reader and writer, I’ve been curating articles that I enjoy or want to keep for myself to serve as a reminder of any sort. Here’s a small collection of them, broken into a 4 part series. Each part consist of 5 articles, with the last one containing 3.
Here’s the link to the full list:
And here are the links to the various parts.
List to this series (Yes, I’ve decided to make another list to organise it):
I’ve included some of my highlights from these articles. For those without or with minimal featured highlights, there’s simply just too many that I’ve highlighted within the linked article. For others, it’ll give away the point of the article.
6. A Winning Career Strategy Starts With Your Strengths by Ria Tagulinao
Let your strengths dictate your strategy.
My takeaway: We’re told from a young age to focus on our weaknesses, instead of just our strengths. Balance them out. So we can do well. These aren’t wrong. Focusing on your weakness does not apply to every scenario. If you’re learning something new and are struggling with an important technique, do focus on drilling it till you get it right. Focusing on weaknesses is not wrong, but it does take attention away from enhancing your existing strengths. This article explains its importance when it comes to career decisions. This is something I need to learn and work on. This is worth the read. Do check it out!
7. 6 Astounding Ways to Raise and Nurture Your Self-Esteem by Sorina Raluca Băbău
This article was written after the author read the book ‘6 pillars of self-esteem’, just the book I started a while ago.
Some of my personal highlights from this article: (there are too many I’ll just choose a few)
Self-esteem is the sum of self-confidence and self-respect
Self-esteem is the sum of self-confidence and self-respect
It is therefore a matter of degree. Each and every one of us has high, low, or average self-esteem.
Self-esteem is not something you are born with, but something you can develop through your life.
My takeaway: The steps highlighted in the articles — some may be obvious but difficult to do, while the others may not as apparent. Improving self-esteem does take time, sometimes months and years to take it to a healthier level. However, this article explains the different pillars of self-esteem. These concepts help with a deeper understanding of how self-esteem works. By putting these concepts together with the steps highlighted in the article, it gives a better picture to help work on your self-esteem rather than just telling to that it’s important — and that we should just do steps 1–6. This is what I really enjoyed about the article.
8. 7 Wonderful Ways to Heal and Soothe Your Inner Child by Sorina Raluca Băbău
“How you handle the people that trigger you, that’s your call. But at least know that you’re the one with the explosive inside you and you gain so much liberation, if you find out what that ammunition is and how you got it and if you can really diffuse it… like they diffuse a bomb, you can actually diffuse that ammunition inside you through getting to know yourself. And that’s where freedom actually lies.” — Dr Gabor Mate
My takeaway: As someone also struggling with people-pleasing and is new to applying boundaries, this article is a very worthy read. It explains the inner child, the effects of an unhealed inner child, and the steps to do it.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a little child within who needs love and acceptance.”~ Louise Hay
9. 5 Hard Truths You Need to Hear About Making a Daily Schedule by Charlie Lukas
My takeaway: As someone who thought time management skills weren’t a problem with a legitimate schedule that works, I have trouble following it. I either followed it too religiously — which eventually led to a burn-out. Or I don’t — and let myself fall off the wagon for too long. Building habits are what I’ve been working on but part of what I’m struggling with. These 5 truths serve as great reminders that even though we know what we know, applying it is always tough and that we shouldn’t beat ourselves for it. This article also serves to remind us that making a daily schedule doesn’t need to be as dreadful as it sounds, or look like what someone else other than us might expect, and that’s okay.
I don’t like to waste time, but being obsessed with not wasting time, is kind of a waste of time. You’re just filling your precious moments with unnecessary anxiety.
10. Please Stop Asking, “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?” by Erin O’Neil
My Takeaway: As someone who’s never struggled to answer this question due to the variety of answers that I could always give, this is something that I am struggling with internally. My answers are always different, and it worries me as well as my parents. As stated in the article, ‘Older generations simply don’t know how to respond positively to a college student who is, “Undecided”.’
I realised the impact of this question on young kids,
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the same question that brought me joy and creativity would quickly become toxic as a young adult.
Asking kids what they want to be when they‘re an adult sets a precedent that they will be defined by their title. It tells them that their identity is incomplete without a job that speaks to who they are. In reality, a job is just a job. The person you are at work means next to nothing to the person you are outside of the office. It’s why die-hard fans of TV shows and movies are often disappointed to meet their favourite characters. It turns out, Hollywood actors and actresses are just doing what the rest of us are: working.
What would happen if we stopped asking children to define the rest of their lives before they even have a chance to live it?
As someone who teaches young kids, I’ve never asked this question. And I don’t plan to in the future either. I’m sure they get asked the same question plenty of times anyways. They don’t need another one asking. But if they do wish to share in class, I’ll definitely listen and encourage them more.
Honestly, sometimes, I still feel like this:
We are undeveloped minds making decisions for individuals that don’t yet exist in the world.
And I definitely feel like this
It has often felt as though there isn’t a single job that speaks to who I want to be or what I want to contribute to the world.
I realised, that it’s okay. Let kids (and those who still have no idea, like me), be.
This quote, the most important one,
You can’t clock out from being the person that you are.
This serves as a powerful reminder to ourselves. We’re not defined by the job titles that we hold. We’re human beings, not human doings, after all. We’re not just a robot or another worker. Sure, it’s a big part of our lives that we spend the majority of our waking hours on. But that is just the majority, it doesn’t make it everything. This article also highlights the purpose of our lives that lives beyond our job titles. I love it.
This is a four part series on 18 Medium articles I’ve curated. For the rest of the parts, do visit Part 1, Part 3, Part 4.
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