This isn't my planned article for today being the first day in a new month. But after having a conversation earlier today with a brother who has been looking for a job after 5 years of leaving school, I felt the need to write on this subject which I believe will benefit most people who are still in school here.
It is appalling to know that many people graduated from school without acquiring any education needed to survive in life. Many went there in search of degrees and paper honors without getting the necessary training to face after-school life. One may succeed in getting a first-class honor or degree but if these are not accompanied by the right training, which is skill acquisitions and the training of the mind such honor or degree has no value in real life. Any education that is not backed by skill acquisitions and mind training in critical thinking will only yield frustration and stagnation because as a man thinks in his heart so he is. Education without the training of the mind in critical thinking is education leading nowhere.
Critical thinking is the foundation of successful graduation from school because you cannot raise in life beyond your level of thinking. Your success or failure is directly related to your thinking ability. So many youths graduated from school with the hope that they are going to reign in life with degrees and paper honors only to be surprised to find out that the world revolves around thinkers. There is little or no regard for paper honors, until you can prove it you can not owe it. Proving it is where the mind comes to play. While undergoing a study or education it is important to engage in a mental training process. Unfortunately, no one is going to teach you this, you owe yourself a duty to train your mind in critical thinking because this is the only thing that you need to face in your future. So many think they were prepared to succeed while passing out from school, only to find out that they were viewing the world from a class and have not got a clear picture of how the world works. The world doesn't work the way many thinks while in school, the carefree life, the flexing, the runs, and partying blindfolded many who later found out it was not as was told. Hence, the frustration to starts all over again learning how to survive after spending 5 to 6 years in college.
It is saddening to see today a lot of school graduates find it hard to scribble an acceptable application letter for a job without relying on Google, even the curriculum vitae need to be uploaded from the Internet and then edited to suit one purpose. Where have things gone wrong, was it the education system that is at fault or the individuals? Partly the education system in most underdeveloped countries could be said to be at fault, yet the individuals need to realize that education is beyond the four corners of a classroom. Given this, you soon found out that the school system lied to you, and you must start all over again. One thing that people failed to realize earlier is not knowing that education is not meant for the acquisition of certificates but the necessary training that is needed to start life in sound footings. Certificates or degrees are only a testament to the training you have undergone, and if you can not prove it you can not own it.
The training and development of the mind must be a crucial aspect of any education for it to have a lasting impact on life. It is crucial upon the fact that there are not many jobs opening nowadays, you need to learn to think of a way to survive in face of joblessness. The thinking that your certificates or degrees will bail you through in life is only a lie wrapped up in a decorative suite that many wear today while suffering and smiling. The culmination of this is depression and suicide. And those who couldn't bear the frustration go into crime and fraud to survive. It is important to note that only a few scaled through in life with their certificates or degrees, and that's because they were either connected to someone who knows someone or they got lucky by being able to prove it by engaging their minds while scaling the corporate ladders in their organizations. They also never stopped learning and developing their minds by reading and getting more training in their fields of practice.
The time spent in getting additional necessary training besides the four walls of a classroom must not be considered a waste. It is even better to start early even while still in school. You can ask yourself this question, how do l survive after school? This question requires critical thinking skills to discover what is your passion. This is what differentiates achievers from others, the ability to engage the mind.
Everything is time-bound, so is your success in life. The earlier you learn to use your mind in regards to your future the better for you. Everyone has the same amount of time in life, which is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Time is a measurement of growth based on your thinking ability, and although everyone has 24 hours a day, yet everyone experiences a different degree of success every day. The reason is the difference in thinking. When you relearn everything you know about education and success, things start to make better sense. When a person asks why he hasn't achieved much after spending so many years in school, what he should be asking is how much time has he given into thinking? If he hasn't thought much, he hasn't given enough to achieve success!
In today's world, it's uncommon to see younger superiors managing older subordinates. What happened here is the sharp minds the younger possess. Age becomes less significant in terms of critical thinking once we are out of school because most people stop engaging their minds once they leave school! Those who continue to grow their minds will eventually surpass their seniors who stay put in personal growth. You don't have control overtime to make it favor you, but you certainly have control over the growth of your mind. This is the difference-maker in life.
Conclusion
Education is not only to acquire certificates and papers. This is where most people missed it while in school. There are very few people who studied the basics skills for survival in life at school, and in fact a majority of them have no idea what they were doing. Everyone thinks that if they study hard and get good grades, they will be successful in life. They may or may not be wrong.
It is more important to have the basic skills to understand the way that society works, understand how to manage your money wisely, manage the relationships you have with other people, how you use your time wisely. It is this critical knowledge that makes you stand out from the crowd. Therefore it is highly important that you make sure while you are still in schools to equip yourself with skills in all areas of life so that you can start to experience the joys of living a full life after school.
You just finished work here. I had thought on going to do my Masters immediately after I finish my service, but I now have a re-think. Acquiring skills is the ultimate...