So...You Don’t Like What You’re Studying. What Now?

Someone asked, “I’ve thought about quitting my course because I have no interest in it. What should I do now?”

It is very important for you to have an interest in what you are studying. At the very least, that can provide an intrinsic motivation to keep studying and keep expanding your knowledge. If you are not interested in what you are studying, it is very difficult for you to get up in the morning and keep on going.

Interest is a good starting point in your journey to build your knowledge and skills in the subject matter. The journey is long and hard, so having interest as the intrinsic motivation is important to reduce the likelihood of burning out.

Along the journey, that interest can evolve into passion.

If you are not interested what you’re studying, then you have two options. Option 1: You can persevere and see where it goes. It is possible that you will end up sparking an interest in the subject matter. Option 2: You can quit and pursue another path that you find interesting.

Both options are risky, and both are not easy to do. If you choose Option 1, then you have to endure the journey, rather than enjoying it, hoping that you will eventually be interested in it. If you choose Option 2, then you have to start over and you might feel that you are missing out. You would most probably have to face the social judgment of graduating later than your peers.

Either way, you have to make a choice. It is a difficult choice, but it is still a choice you can make. This is your life. This is your university degree. This is going to be your decision. So think about it.
Try to weigh the pros and cons, and make a decision. Whatever decision you ended up making, you have to be open to the possibility of making mistakes. You are a human being, and you are always exposed to mistakes.

If you make a mistake, then learn and move on. You can always turn back if you need to. It’s never too late. The idea that if you made a mistake, then you can’t turn back is completely false. The door of taubat (turning back) is always open.

Of course, you can’t rewind what has passed. That’s not what you should think about when you think about turning back. What you should think about is learning from the experience and moving on to become a better person.

The thing is, life is not a race. Just because somebody finishes earlier than you does not make you a failure. What makes you a failure is if you are heading in the wrong direction? What is the benefit of being fast if you are heading in the wrong direction?

Fast or slow is not the point. As long as you are heading in the right direction, you are good to go. If you realized that you are on the wrong path, then correct your course and return to the path you should take instead.

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AIMAN AZLAN, #YouthMentor
Need a one-to-one session with me? Click the link below:
www.aimanazlan.com/mentorship

Am I Wasting Time Studying What I Don’t Like?

Usually that question comes from university students.

At this point of your life, you should be able to make your own decisions and try things you are interested in. You should be given some room to move on your own, especially in this stage of your life.

Perhaps in this stage you don’t know what you like, you don’t know what you passion is, and you don’t know what to do with your life. That is okay. I can even say that it is normal. You are in a stage of your life where discovery and exploration are the norm.

You should not rush the process. Besides, life is not a race. Take a time out, sit down with your thoughts, and slowly figure out what would you like to do. You can even start with a guess. When you start your pursuit, things will become clearer and you will modify your goal to something more meaningful to you personally.

You can start with a few basic questions:

• What are some of your interests?
• What are the things that you want to learn?
• What makes you feel excited to wake up in the morning?

Set a goal that you want to achieve (even if it’s a badly crafted one) and start moving towards it. See where the journey leads you. If it goes somewhere, Alhamdullillah. If it goes nowhere, also Alhamdulillah. Because now you can cross off one thing off your list.

That is not a waste of time. That is a part of the journey that leads you to learning more about yourself. Not only should you learn about your capabilities, but you should also learn about your incapabilities. You are a human being after all, so both are part of the package.

You are in the process of searching for an answer to the question: “What do you I want to do with my life?” When you found out something doesn’t work out for you, then that is an answer to the question. The answer is, “Maybe not that. Try something else.”

This idea of wasting time is only there because you think of your life as a straight road where there’s no left or right turn, and there’s no going back. Also, you think that life is a race and you need to have everything figured out by a certain time. Otherwise, you will be left out.

There’s truth to that statement, of course. But it is not to say that you should be like everyone else. You have your own journey to take, they have theirs. Let them focus on their journey, while you focus on your own. As long as you keep on searching, you are not wasting time because there’s much to learn in the process.

So really enjoy this process of seeking and trying to figure out what you want to do with your life because it is also a way for you to find out who you are and where your place is in this vast world we are living in.

Your process may take longer than your friends but it is okay. Don’t compare your journey to their journey. If one thing doesn’t work for you, then you have discovered one pathway that is not for you.

There is a famous story about Thomas Edison when he tried to figure out how to build a working lightbulb. He failed like a thousands of times in the process of creating one working lightbulb. Somebody asked him, “How is it to fail one thousand times?”

To that, he replied “I did not fail one thousand times. I just found one thousand ways how not to make a lightbulb”

In short, he didn’t take his experience as a waste of time. He took it as a journey full of learning opportunities. In your case, maybe you have found many ways not to build your lightbulb.

That’s okay.

Keep on trying until you find a way to make your bulb lights up.

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AIMAN AZLAN, #YouthMentor
Need a one-to-one session with me? Click the link below:
www.aimanazlan.com/mentorship

Pursuing Passion Isn’t Always Enjoyable

Consider this example: I like to do public speaking. But in order to be good at public speaking, I have to read books about public speaking. Problem is, I don’t like to read, so how? The pursuit of my passion is prevented by this thing that I don’t like to do.

Let me begin by reminding all of us this simple rule of life:

You don’t always get what you want.

Ideally, it will be great if everything that we do follows everything that we desire and like. But in reality, that is not how life works. If you found whatever it is you are interested in and passionate about, but then you have to learn something that you are not interested in, then that is just a part of life’s challenges.

Think of it this way: If your goal is worth it, then you will power through the challenge to get to your goal. But if you give up easily, then maybe you don’t want that goal as much as you think you do (or, maybe it’s not your goal to begin with?).

There is something that you can do to make the process easier. Take the example in the beginning: I like public speaking but I don’t like to read books about public speaking (even though I know I need to if I want to learn).

So, what to do?

I try to convince myself to look at reading differently. Yes, I don’t like it; it is a tedious process that takes my time and drains my energy. Having said that, I can still enjoy it just by looking at it as an exercise for my mind.

I don’t like to exercise, but I know that I have to do it. I also know that I will feel better at the end. So, when I read something I know that I will enjoy it at the end. I know that at the end of it there will be a fruit for me.

I just focused on that, and it makes me able to go through the process easier. It is still a challenge, but keeping my end goal in mind makes it more likely that I will persevere through the difficulty. Because my goal is worth it.

Try coaching your mind in seeing things differently. Just because you don’t like something, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad for you. Allah said in the Qur’an, “...perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you...” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ayat 216)

You want to pursue something that you love, but in the process of that pursuit, you may have to learn something that you don’t particularly enjoy. But remember, if the goal is worth it, then you won’t be bothered by something just because it is difficult and unpleasant.

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AIMAN AZLAN, #YouthMentor
Book a one-to-one online session with me:
www.aimanazlan.com/mentorship

How Powerful is Your Mind?

In today's podcast episode, I gave a brief commentary about the first chapter of my book "Unshakeable: How to Be Confident When You're Nervous".

I gave my commentary based on this paragraph in the chapter:

Our mind is a fascinating gift. Our mind is capable of achieving great things, if only we learn how it works and how to properly use it. Our mind is the looking glass through which we see and understand the world.

Come listen to the podcast episode on Anchor. Also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

 

5 Important Tips to Reduce Stress

1. Deep Breathing

Sometimes life can be overwhelming, so it is important to remember to stop and breathe. Pause what you’re doing, close your eyes, and take a deep breathe. Feel the air coming in and out of you, and savour the moment.

2. Gratitude Journal

Take pen and paper. For only 5 minutes, write down the things you have right now that you can be grateful for. Focus specifically on the little things, because we tend to take them for granted.

3. Social Support

One or two supportive friends or family members can be powerful enough to help overcome stress. True social support is when the people stay with you no matter what, through thick and thin. At the very least, you have a shoulder you can cry on.

4. Sincere Prayer

Consciously enter the prayer with the intention of wanting to connect with Allah. The moment when you stand in front of Him, push the stress away for a moment and find your center. Return to the meaning of your life.

5. Positive Self-talk

Be aware of what you’re thinking and analyze it with self-talk. Communicate and negotiate with yourself. Figure out what’s the realistic and productive way of thinking about the stressful situation.

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Are you OVERWHELMED with stress? We can't control stress, but we can definite control how we respond to it. Learn more at my next online class: www.aimanazlan.com/overwhelmed

5 Important Life Skills to Learn in University

1. How to negotiate and debate with people, without getting emotional and ego-defensive to a point where you are unable to think clearly, listen properly, and speak coherently.

2. How to deliver impactful public speech, without the need to read from a text or rely on too many unnecessary gimmicks.

3. How to speak English confidently, such that you are able to carry a conversation with anyone from around the world.

4. How to manage daily stress, without getting burnt out by all the load and crumble under the pressure.

5. How to manage time and commitments well enough, such as the majority of the time is spent on things that will help you reach your goals.

6. How to budget your money so that you don't become sucked into impulsive buying and instant gratification, and you have an investment plan for your future.

Why are you studying in the first place?

Whatever that you do, you will do it with some level of difficulty. That challenge will come whether you invite it or not. In the event that the challenge feels too much to the point where you want to give up, a good place to start contemplating (assuming that you still care to continue the fight) is your intention.

Why are you doing it in the first place?

The idea is that your intention holds your main motivation. That is where you find the energy to keep on moving forward and keep on fighting. If your intention isn't strong enough or meaningful enough, then your motivation might be short lived. 

When things get a bit tougher, you might be compelled to give up or run away.

Coming back to the question, why are you doing it in the first place? This is particularly an important question to ask if you are young and you are studying. Why? Because so many young students I met don't even know why they are studying and they go through the motions until things get hard, and they give up.

That's not a good way of experiencing your education. That's not a good way of experiencing your life. You have to check and re-check your intention constantly, and make sure that it points to the direction that is meaningful for you.

Watch this video to learn more:

Further updates:

Update #1: I uploaded a new podcast episode about how I deal with being rejected in an interview. The interview happened yesterday, so it's still fresh! Click the link to listen to the episode: #BeUnshakeable Ep. 22 - I was Rejected in an Interview, and I Planned It.
2. I will be doing an online class called OVERWHELMED. It is about how to manage your everyday stress, on 26 January 2019 (Saturday). Hope you can invest 2 hours of your time to learn how to conquer your stress. Info and registration here: OVERWHELMED.