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In a world as empirical as ours, a youngster who does not know what he is good at will not be sure what he is good for.

- EDGAR Z.FRIEDENBERG, 1959

A simple question can sometimes bring a fury of confusion and doubt. My friend, what do you like to do? What are you good at? Have you ever tried answering these questions? We imagine it so that most people have a ready answer for what they do not like and what they are not good at rather than for the positive versions. I know a great deal many more people who could give us a list of what they do not like and not good at but hesitated to answer what they like or at good at, I was also one of them.

It is true to a certain extend that when one is not sure what he is good at, he will not know what he is good for. One can only guess. Will I be good at driving? I thought I might be for I played racing games on the Playstation long enough. But no, I failed a miserable six times before I finally got my driving licence in Australia, I have to admit, driving aren’t my forte but it doesn’t matter to me. It’s just a skill for us to drive safely from point A to point B. Video games on racing helped little, the cars in the games doesn’t crash as the real world does and certainly, when real lives are involved, we tend to treat things a little more differently, don’t we? *Winks*

What was I good at? I certainly wasn’t completely sure before. I have quite respectable grades for writing, design and the arts as graded by my teachers in school when I was young, surely I must have some kind of talent in that. Yet, when I looked at the greatest writers and world class designers out there, I just hid in my hole proclaiming I was average. Have you done that before too?

It was only after a couple of years down the road when I started to win awards that I started to treat myself with a little more respect which I believed I have earned. But sometimes, no matter how much effort one has put in his or her work, having a second look at it again gives one doubt. “True, I did my best but there are flaws still in it. I don’t think I deserve it, perhaps I won because mine was just a little better than the rest considered, but mine certainly wasn’t up there in the highest shelf of history’s greatest.” It was a letdown, someone covering himself with a wet blanket over himself even when there’s a dry one available, he just chose not to take it.

At other times, I was overconfident. I thought I was the king of the world and thought I should do my best and care little for what others think. There was once when I created an extravagated billboard poster for my presentation. When about a hundred others just stuck an A4 size poster on the board, I cut out “thunderbolts” and stickers to paste on mine. I was one of the few who brought my laptop along and also held a display section in my area on the books which have influenced me on my projects. I even held a small science fair and prepared extra speeches during my presentations. My girlfriend at that time was flabbergasted. She did not wish me to do such things and hope that I opt for the ordinary instead. She asked me if I was sure what I was doing, perhaps she was concerned about me becoming the laughing stock at the presentations. I had the fear too but I told her I was sure what I was doing, the risk will be worth it. As I didn’t wanted her to continue worrying about me, I did the preparations only when she was sound asleep.

At the end of the day, I scored one of, if not the highest presentation points among the hundred or so who took part. She was proud of me, I could tell it in her eyes, but I knew she wasn’t really happy I did it. Yes, a paradox feeling. Perhaps I did it too often, one of the reasons she gave when she mentioned she wanted a break up was that we think too differently from each other. Hearing that, it hurt like hell. I told her I could change, but she said then I wouldn’t be the person she loved anymore. Another paradox feeling hit me. Was one to be punished for being himself and doing his best? But I figured that it wasn’t like that, perhaps it’s just like what she said, we think too differently, perhaps it would be painful to continue being and living together although we loved each other’s company very much for years….perhaps, perhaps, perhaps… In the midst of a couple of other problems, I reluctantly had to let her go even though I still loved her so much…it did hurt like hell.

From then on, I knew for sure what I was great at, not just good. I had my awards to prove to myself. It’s strange, you know? Often, it’s not what others tell you how good or bad you are that you yourself is truly good or bad. It is often what you think of yourself as good or bad that really determines your worth. I was shy to say I was anything good in anything once, now, I know I am great at some things and am not shy to show it if I were to tell it to anyone. That’s a rule of thumb, it is much better and creditable for people to find out for themselves with something you have done rather with what you have said.

So what am I good at? I may not be the best but I know that I am great at Research, Writing, Design and Business, aspects that ranges from planning, marketing and hiring people. These four skills complement each other very well. I opt to pick up on Engineering and Inventing till a later stage of my life when I decided to shift my focus from the information area into the industrial area when I can retire partially on the business side when it’s financially feasible to do so. Two years, five or ten years, I will do my best to achieve it earlier. And when I do so, the focus would be mainly on products which can help the most people to better their lives, especially the needy who would benefit the most from such attention. Basically, that’s how I plan to live my life if there’s no major changes in life.

Have you decided what you are good at yet?

Once you have, it’s time to decide if you can take the plunge soon or now if you have already been waiting for so long. Do contact me if you do or decided not to, or would appreciate some exchange of words between us.

Godspeed and all the best.