When you are content to be simply yourself
And don't compare or compete
Everybody will respect you
Lao Tzu
If there is a place where earnest self-efficiency is demanded of the young, it is in the university. Here, there is need for grind, for active participation entailing self-assertion and a backbone for managing interpersonal relationships, both in balance. The university, as we ultimately realize, is training grounds for harmony of mind-and-heart—one has got to be adept in both. It is equally a test of the next generation's collaborative skill, for one of the main challenges is to work together while effectively maintaining the unique characteristics of each participant.
In such a program, it takes skill to keep being passionate about our personal goals. These targets — visions of our future self — make up a great part of our life-view. We want our actions to align with the vision, keeping the target in sight while we maneuver around obstacles, pettiness, chaos and the routine. In case the student aims to redirect their academic path, they can go through the shifting process. On the contrary, if there is anything that gets us through the day, in academia and in the world beyond, it is the inner continuity that we keep resilient with regards to external circumstance. This inner continuity—our personality traits, character—is the steady point from which we proceed and act in reality.
In the book Two Ages: A Literary Review, Soren Kierkegaard comments about superficiality as observed in one of the book's characters: “The art [of character] lies in the repetition of the psychological conception in the presentation itself” (p. 54). Here, several aspects of healthy personal identity are pointed out, that is: intentionality, action, self-efficiency and continuity. How do these concepts actually function especially in the context of college life?
One of the primary objectives of any university is to train the young person to incorporate new adult roles—roles which they soon soon will take up upon entering society as graduates. From this perspective, college essentially becomes a question of ‘who do you want to be’ and ‘where do you want to go?’ In their freshman and sophomore years, it is expected already that these questions have been more or less defined and answered and resolved, by the student within himself. Passivity is not encouraged; in university self-affirmative action becomes a virtue. Through all the business and trifles that has been mentioned, the self must emerge, and this is possible through an integrated sense of who one is and the direction they want to go.
The concepts:
Intentionality
Doubtless there is self-confidence in action when we deeply understand that we do it guided by a voluntariness that is flexible enough to change when circumstance changes. Here we avoid becoming the piece of wood that is carried away by the water, and instead choose to act like the tiny amphibian that hop and glide along the surface. We don't go with the flow—there's too much in college going on that to plan to take part in it all is as much a plan to lose sight of priorities. Neither do we go against the flow—university life is about participation and fulfilling our deep need for experience. Instead, we surf/skate the surface, act as rationally as possible about opportunities, weighing needs vs. wants and ultimately taking that which we will need along the road.
Action
Our intentions require our actions, otherwise they're just reflections of the moment—to fade with the moment. Actions by themselves are greatly affected by the amount of knowledge we had while doing the action, but imperfect knowledge does not need to prevent action. A possibility that takes us one step forward is better than waiting for other opportunities to show up. The university is a place of learning and one is given freedom for ample self-reflection and the development of wisdom.
Self-efficiency
I can start to feel secure in myself from the understanding that I am doing valuable work, that I am giving valuable contribution to the group, to the community, etc., that I belong in. And especially that I am doing my future self an honor from everything I am doing in the present. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to affirm ourselves and our path, especially in systems that feel like it's burdening us with more and more demands but doesn't reward sufficiently! Anyway, part of maturity is to understand that we should not depend on other's approval.
Continuity
The only way to reach the goal is to take the paths that can take me to it. Here the state of my inner environment must be more constant than my external environment. I took a course and failed, but it's not the only university course that can land me that dream job. I take another that could still position me there when the time comes. These changes in my outward reality does not make me question my sense of value, but it has taught me to how to better align what I have from what I need, my skills from my opportunities. In the end, I remain true to myself, consistent with myself.
In philosophy, the question is posited that the question of character and virtue does not lie in the question of ‘what one must do’ but rather on ‘what must I be?’ The essential difference with the second question is its incorporation of a life-view. When we have an idea, even a vague idea, of who we want to be and where we want to go, the rest of life is just a matter of selectivity. We will understand which to prioritize and where to bet the little we have. We know we which direction to face and where to turn ourselves from because it's not meant for us. As Soren Kierkegaard says somewhere in the same book, The life-view is the way out, and the story is the way.
