Optimisation Fatigue?

Optimisation fatigue?

We live in a time of over-saturation, instant access, and limitless improvement.

As I reflect on my journey through life, I become more aware of how important it is to take stock of achievements—as opposed to, or in conjunction with—the intense momentum of continuous self-improvement in both my personal life and career.

At the age of twenty-two, I have both a BA in Philosophy and Psychology, and an MA in Politics and IR; I've self-published one memoir, and one poetry anthology, and over 40 articles on development, communication, and international affairs; I have lived in three countries; I have learned two further languages; I have attended four Model UN events, and the National Student Leadership Forum in D.C.; I have launched my own website called Verbarise; and I am currently been working as an apprentice management consultant for 9 months.

Now, although this may seem like arrogant self-flattery, or cover-letter accomplishments—I believe this act of self-confidence is both important and fundamentally necessary to display.

I once spoke to a productive Python coder who told me that life is about marketing yourself well and possessing the ability to communicate your raison d'être.

You see, taking a moment out of your day to write a paragraph about what you have done so far in life—at least academically or professionally—gives you a moment of pride and gratitude in the midst of both the information frenzy on our screens, the comparisons to people of different ages and situations, and the oftentimes overwhelming process of thinking you can compulsively optimise every aspect of both your professional and personal life.

As such, if I aim at being the best twenty-two-year-old I can be—whilst steering away from naively comparing myself to productivity maestros, experienced corporate leaders, or over-idealistic ideals—then I can carry myself with an air of composure and intentional—not excessive—flow in the manifestation of daily thoughts and actions.

I don't wish to flaunt my successes in the arena of social-media bravado. Rather, my objective is to prompt every reader to thus celebrate their victories, lead others to self-compassion, and avoid unfair comparisons against standards accumulated by virtue of age and subjective experience.

Parse the complexity of technological output, separate the wheat from the chaff, remember what you've done—and constructively build your community.

Thank you for reading!

Verbarise