February, 2018?—?Hokkaido Kickoff Trip

What you do everyday more than what you do once in a while.

Welcome to the №27 Edition of

THE REVIEW ARMY

Every month, I squeeze a day to reflect on my work, life and thoughts. Since Dec 2015.

February, 2018 — Hokkaido Kickoff Trip

This month is Chinese New Year, we have a 8-day holiday, and I went to Hokkaido, Japan. I want to spend some time with myself and think through the things happened during the past year, and figure out where should I go next.

Usually, Chinese New Year is the time that family get together for dinner for days. But my family is pretty open minded and bright, they always said:

As long as you are doing things you love, enjoying them and developing yourself, you don』t have to be at home for new year dinner. You are always welcome to come back home for dinner.

I』m grateful for the space they provide me to grow and learn, and I usually go back home around Christmas, when the flights is not demanding in China.

Work

I only work for the start and the last week of Feb, but apart from my daily work, I』ve also been thinking about my next move.

Should I stay or should I leave for new challenges?

It』s apparent that I feel bored at current job, and I do just for the sake of practicing my patience and product skills. I don』t have much passion left for the projects we』ve been building here.

I believe now is the best time to put myself in a new environment, start all over again and embrace the challenges. I will share more about my new job after the joining.

Life

It』s hard to say you don』t feel any pain or frustration when you are dumped by a person you love, no matter how tough and indenpent you are.

Before that, it』s always my problem, I brought up the conversation to break up. It』s good for me to experience it on the other side of this situation, so I will understand how heartbroken it is.

And after that, I will not start a relationship unless I really really like her, and have confidence about our future. Because I don』t want to hurt anyone』s feelings, or be hurt by others.

Date more, and find out the type of the girl you love the most. Be patient and wait until she enters your world.

When I travel, I usually send some requests on couchsurfing to meet interesting people, as well as book hotels on airbnb to fill the gap of my no-couch period. It』s surprise that in Hokkaido, all the hosts are foreign girls, they are from America, Indonesia and Philipines, including a girl we』ve met on Tinder. (Apparently Japanese are shy and emtremely care about their privacy)

Everything that affects my emotions and block myself to move forward, should be buried and end after Hokkaido trip. This time, I choose a short film as a way to express myself, and the expectation for myself in 2018.

My grandfather also passed away when I was travelling in Hokkaido, I didn』t make it to his funeral. But I feel lucky for myself that I made the decision to visit the family in January.

The older he grows, the wiser he is, I remember whenever I go visit my grandpa, he always says you should go out and experience more about this world. The support from my grandpa, as well as my parents, provide me a healthy environment to develop myself, and it』s such a treasure.

What I』m Reading

1. The Joy and Sorrow of Rereading Holt』s 「How Children Learn」

The article covers the 6 key points of children』s learning and the importance of maintaining independence for students to learn and make mistakes.

The spirit of independence in learning is one of the most valuable assets a learner can have, and we who want to help children』s learning at home or in school, must learn to respect and encourage it.

Children learn best when they are allowed complete control of their own learning. Or, when they are allowed complete control of their own doing.

2. Your First Thought Is Rarely Your Best Thought: Lessons on Thinking

Thinking time is non-linear. The time you spend thinking — walking around a problem in a three-dimensional way and exploring all of the various perspectives and mental models — pays you back tenfold in the end.

3. Second-Order Thinking: What Smart People Use to Outperform

「Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.」

— John Meynard Keynes

What I』m Planning

After the self conversation, I』m leaving for new companies for sure. Don』t know what challenges I will be facing, but I』m excited to embrace them. Hope I will be able to start on new projects in March.

The interview also gives me a lot of hints on the projects I』ve done besides my daily job. My weekly product journal, monthly self reflection, short films and even Tinder experiment, they all helped me before and during and interviews.

I realize there』s actually a funny circle:

If you are doing what you love, the chances of doing or switching to something you are even more passionate about is enormous;

But if you are doing things you are not enjoying or been told, you will pretty much do the things you hate more later.

So being young is the most valuable asset, getting yourself into as many subjects and experiences as possible, and you have more chances to find the things you enjoy.

Thanks for reading and continuous support. Hope you find this email helpful, and I』m looking forward to hearing from yours!

「What you do everyday more than what you do once in a while.」

Warm Regards,

Zake