I recently read an article that really inspired me and I wanted to share my thoughts on it, and why I think it’s so important.

Here’s the original article:

http://oliveremberton.com/2013/you-can-do-anything-if-you-stop-trying-to-do-everything/

I think that something like this is really relevant to a lot of students because when you’re surrounded by high-achieving individuals that are of the same age, you feel compelled to do stuff.

And this is most of the time really good. You work hard, try new activities, and engage in healthy competition.

But I feel as if it can be really harmful too.

Just yesterday, I heard some girl almost ‘bragging’ about how little sleep she got the other night.

She was saying something like ‘I had 5 hours of band practice, then I had to attend my MUN meeting, then I had tutor for 2 hours, and then I had to do all my homework. Omg I slept at like 4:00 am, I work soooo hard!!!’

I mean, don’t get me wrong. Doing stuff is good. But there’s a limit you know?

I’m sure that girl, let’s call her Josie, is working really hard. And maybe she’s genuinely passionate about everything she does. But I think she’s doing it wrong.

If we try to do everything, if we try to make everyone happy, and if we try to say yes to everything, we’re missing out on some valuable time.

We’re missing out on time and energy that should be spent on ourselves.

How often do you spend time on self-reflection?

How often do you analyze your strengths and weaknesses?

A common theme that I’ve noticed in so many successful people is the amount of time they spend taking care of themselves. This can be through meditation, running, reading, whatever; the point is that if you’re not setting aside time to work on yourself, you’re massively limiting your potential to grow.

In the IB, I think it’s the same way. You have to prioritize. You have to find a way to maximize your output & productivity but at the same time you can’t survive on 4 hours of sleep every night.

I know that when you’re taking the IB this all sounds very abstract and meaningless, but please do take some time to self-reflect.

In the long run, are you better off spending some time with your little sister who you’re not going to see next year or should you attend a club meeting just so that you can put it on your Resumé?

99% of people will carry on their lives keeping themselves busy and doing meaningless activities.

The 1% that succeed will be self-critical (and accountable), pursue activities that they are genuinely interested in, and aim to maximize happiness (and not wealth or status).

You have the potential to do anything in this world, if, and only if, you don’t try to do everything.

That will surely lead to unhappiness and regret.