PICTURE this: From among every 100 pupils who enroll in primary school, only about 50 get a chance to go to high school, and only about 25 are able to pursue college education. From this, only about 10 finally get their college diploma and get to take board exams. And then there’s even more depressing news: Only 1 out of these 10 graduates that our system produces gets employed.
Given these facts about their education and employment prospects, it is very important for young people today to make the correct decisions about what they want to be. They should realize that just one mistake could be a cause of great regret for the rest of their lives, but that just one correct decision now could make them attain a better life.
I’ve met a lot of successful young professionals who always agree to the point of being no longer agreeable. They have a natural tendency to say “yes” without thinking. They seldom realize that in time of confusion, it is always safer to say “no” because any time afterwards, it is much easier to change a “no” with a “yes” than to change a “yes” with a “no.”
Well, I am here to deliver the news: The success of these young professionals won’t last that long.
I have learned that “no” is the hardest word that you could ever find in a dictionary. On the other hand, “yes” is the softest. This, I think, is the primary reason why people get into so many troubles they say “yes” much too often. They compromise without analyzing things first. They fail by trying to please everyone.
These small things matter big in the end. And yet they need not make you their victims. You can always disagree without being disagreeable. And to do that, you have to learn the value of saying “no.”
Besides, being able to say “no” has something to do with the first weapon for success: Make and manage a decision.
Most corporations today look for individuals with the capacity to decide and manage the decision they have made. In other words, they look for people with the will and the sense of responsibility to get the job done and get it done right.
I never dreamed of becoming an engineer. It was to become a journalist that I had always aspired for since I was in fifth grade. I would join press conferences and writing competitions and I would always win. I loved English so much and I enjoyed playing with words.
My teachers would openly tell me that I should pursue a career in journalism not only because I had the gift for it but also because I was actually preparing myself for it all that time. By then, in fact, I had made myself believe that I must pursue a degree in mass communication.
One night, during a family discussion on what career I should pursue, my aspirations totally changed. Most of my family thought that journalism was not a money-making industry and that I wouldn’t get a satisfactory daily living from it, so they convinced me to pursue another field. That time, Electronics and Communications Engineering was in demand, so I decided to take it instead of journalism.
Such was the decision I made.
