As 2023 swiftly draws to a close, my university life is nearing its end with just half a year remaining. A friend once said, “What’s frightening is not losing your passion for work, but never being able to find it again.”
This year, I encountered many people and experienced numerous events, gradually shaping my world view. I’m fond of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and often reflect on my own state through it. I enjoy challenges, both in my work and hobbies (like hiking, cycling…). It seems I’ve successfully fulfilled the first four levels of Maslow’s theory: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, and esteem needs. I’m probably at the stage of self-actualization needs. However, it’s worth mentioning that while Maslow’s theory is hierarchical, human needs aren’t always linear or fixed. For instance, someone at the self-actualization stage might still encounter needs from other levels at different times. If a person loses their job or faces financial difficulties, they may refocus on safety needs like financial security and stability. Similarly, the end of a close relationship or changes in one’s social network might reignite a desire for social needs. Even in everyday life, when we fall ill or feel hungry, our focus might temporarily shift from higher-level needs like self-actualization to physiological needs.
I believe we should recognize that although people might focus on different levels of needs at different times, it doesn’t mean they’re regressing in personal development. Instead, it’s a natural, dynamic process reflecting life’s complexity and variability. Adapting one’s focus of needs flexibly in the face of challenges and change is part of adaptation and personal growth. Thus, going with the flow, keeping pace, continuously learning, and reflecting are my mottos for growth and survival.
Outdoor activities have significantly relaxed my mind, allowing me to view the “big picture” from an outsider’s perspective. Throughout the growth cycle, we are like players in a chess game, each role indispensable but with its own limitations.
This year I felt a strong drive, detesting a life akin to a frog boiled in warm water and a complacent lifestyle. Occasionally, a spark of an idea or a flash of inspiration would lead me to consider starting my own business. These ideas are recorded in my notebook, possibly to be revisited in the future for a wholehearted attempt. Being at the level of self-actualization in Maslow’s hierarchy, I yearn to create my own business. A career is an activity with specific goals, scale, and system that impacts societal development; work, however, involves repetitive actions or tasks over a long period. Clearly, if life is a game, then the latter is like an NPC, engaged in repetitive, value-less tasks, not conducive to personal growth or societal progress. Business and entrepreneurship differ too, business is short-term profit-oriented, while a career is guided by life’s ambitions. During a trip to Chongqing, I had a meaningful exchange with an experienced entrepreneur. It became clear that business is driven by profit, while a true career is driven by dreams, passion, and perseverance, with earning money being a natural part of the process. As a cog in the machine, working on the front lines, even though pawns in chess seem insignificant, they are fundamental in achieving strategic goals. In entrepreneurship, front-line employees (developers, testers, operators) and daily operations teams are like these pawns, executing daily tasks, essential for the business to function. However, being just a pawn isn’t enough if you aspire to build your own business. Focusing solely on day-to-day operations without a broader vision could lead to missed strategic opportunities. You need to leap beyond your current thinking and constraints, combining the foresight of a bishop, the innovative thinking of a knight, and the execution power of a rook. This means developing long-term strategies (bishop), flexibly handling emergencies and creatively solving problems (knight), and directly driving business forward (rook). Even strategic thinking is necessary; akin to a king in chess, setting the company’s long-term goals and strategic direction. Although the king’s movement in chess is limited, it is central to the game. Similarly, as entrepreneurs, we might not directly participate in every detail, but our decisions and visions are crucial to the company.
During job interviews, I enjoy asking questions like:
These questions can help you understand the work state and mindset of employees and bosses.
In the traditional Chinese educational framework, success is defined as having your own business. However, success is actually a feeling, a state of confidence and satisfaction after achieving one’s ideals! Everyone’s definition of success is different! In simple success studies, success is defined as: Talent, effort, and luck. Using the mindset of coding, among these, only effort is writable, while talent and luck are read-only. Hence, for most of us, it’s about “doing our best and leaving the rest to fate.” There’s a motivational song that goes: Just do your best, and leave the rest to fate . So, this is the mindset formed this year: be brave to act, don’t fear loss, and treat effort as an investment, like the K-line chart of the secondary market, with its ups and downs. For example, one curve might initially zigzag before suddenly shooting upwards at a turning point; another might continue zigzagging without clear direction; a third might plunge after a turning point. Most of us aspire to follow the first curve, but no one knows if the initial zigzagging will lead to a turning point. Sometimes we may feel stagnant or face ups and downs, but this doesn’t signify failure. Stability can be an opportunity for growth and self-reflection, or it might be a phase of accumulating energy for the next leap. Bravely facing challenges, not fearing loss, and viewing effort as an investment are key to growth and success. Life and career paths have their ups and downs, evident in Confucian thought. In dealing with gains and losses, honors and disgraces, successes and failures, and even life’s fortunes and misfortunes, one should focus on “seeking within oneself” rather than relying on external forces or blaming others. What matters is how we respond to these fluctuations and what we learn from them.
For a quick annual summary, I’ll focus on the following topics:
Firstly, professionally, my GitHub profile is most representative.
My GitHub contributions:
Badges:
Represented by GitHub, this year’s ossinsight performance:
I participated in many activities this year, marking my first year in the outdoors. Initially drawn to photography, I saved up for a Sony camera, which later collected dust in the dorm. My first trip was to Mount Huangshan with classmates. Unprepared, we summited late in the evening. Tired but fortunate, we witnessed a magnificent sea of clouds right after a rain, instantly relieving our fatigue and sparking my love for the outdoors.
The second trip, well-planned, was to the popular Wugong Mountain from Xiaohongshu. Driven by the desire to see the sea of clouds again, I went spontaneously. A couple from Wuhan accompanied me. I set out alone for the reverse trek in Wugong Mountain one afternoon. As I was about to leave, some people from Guangdong at Longshan Village urged me to hike with them the next day. They even offered supplies and suggested staying overnight, but I left quietly to avoid disturbing them. It was my first time hiking alone, but luckily I met an outdoor group on the way. The mountain was freezing and windy at sunset, and I quickly felt like catching a cold. Then, I met some kind people who took me to a mountain lodge.
On my second trip to Wugong Mountain, I went with classmates, and later I visited many other places. After moving to Shenzhen for an internship, I hiked Shenzhen’s mountains weekly with friends and hiked the MacLehose Trail in Hong Kong, particularly its second, third, and fourth sections. I also camped on islands like Tap Mun and Po Toi.
Just before Christmas, I fulfilled a long-time wish by traveling to Western Sichuan, self-driving along Highway 318, and climbing my first and second snow mountains. Interestingly, I carried my laptop on trips, working during idle times, like when others were ordering food. I also lived in various cities for short periods, immersing myself in the cultures of Chongqing and Chengdu. These experiences might influence my post-graduation plans.
My Twitter
Sometimes we all feel lost, unsure of what kind of life we desire or what we truly want. We struggle to identify our passions and aspirations, often finding it challenging to uncover these answers. However, the truth remains that we constantly strive for the life we desire, taking pride in our achievements.
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