There are many ways to read oneself.
Among them, the easiest and fastest is to read a book. That said, the old saying that what comes easy is lost just as easily does not exactly miss the mark here either. Of course, I do not think anyone would take the bewildering step of giving up reading because of that.
Another way is to use the other person as a mirror to see myself. This one is very hard. If you receive the other emotionally or misread their intent, identification can happen, where you start to resemble the other. So I think some psychological background is very much needed. (* Identification = the phenomenon where the state of mind or behavior of the other person becomes the same as your own.)
Also, instead of looking at and judging the other person's behavior itself, you need to first understand the cause, motivation, and environment behind that behavior, which takes time. (Here, 'needing time' is not just a nicely polished phrase about not making hasty judgments and holding a middle position; it means…) You have to accept and endure the internal and external misunderstandings and rumors that arise in the gap of that time. You need the problem-solving capacity to work through that situation—whether it is an interpersonal one or an inner psychological conflict.
For that reason, I want to practice 'using the other person as a mirror to see myself.' Or, loosely put, it is more like a bit of grumbling I hope to exchange over a drink with the me who might become me in the future.
Mirroring Myself Through the Other 03 — "I've tried that, it does not work."
1.
What matters most in your 20s is fresh curiosity and new experiences. What matters in your 30s is turning even small experiences into something meaningful. What matters from your 40s onward is keeping your own experiences from dictating your life.
The phrases that give me the most regret lately are "I've tried that," "I know about that."
What matters is not the name or category of the experience, but how you had that experience, what meaning you recognized in it, and what part of yourself was improved afterward.
2.
When it comes to starting a new or expanded business (especially a service that creates revenue on its own, not as an outsourced contract), if I list the obvious preconditions society says you need (the so-called 'unavoidable' conditions), on the personal side it really helps to have 4–7 years of experience in the same field, or a diploma from a top-tier university. (Because you can build trust with someone you've just met enough for them to invest—surely this is why parents who have tangled with the real world pour their whole lives into their children's college entrance competition.) For a company, having the bandwidth to actually pursue the new business is the obvious precondition. But… sometimes I also think like this.
On the personal side first…
If you already have 4–7 years of career in the same line of work, is that category not already a red ocean? Or is it not already a specific revenue model for some large corporation? (The problem gets worse if you are also a graduate of the related major.) (And 'having used the same problem-solving approach for more than five years' is… well, people will differ on that. There are still plenty of graphic/print shops running, making a living with only Photoshop 7 before Creative Suite, so it depends on how you frame it; I consider the difference marginal.)
That is probably why more people have been turning to the humanities lately. Since trends (technology) always shift, the important thing is not the direction of the wind but understanding why the wind blows.
On the company side…
We study English in order to stack up the 'spec' (the table-stakes for a company). But homeless people in the US also speak English. What we call 'table stakes' as a goal is mostly already satisfied by most companies that are doing actual sales (in other words, companies that have not gone out of business today).
In short, in life (a life you want to live autonomously, differently), external validators—what we call 'specs,' things like English or a prestigious degree—are not themselves what is important. What matters is what you can do with them, what you want to do, or, before that, why you want to do it. That is what I think needs serious thought.
"What do you do these days?"
"These days…"
"Come to think of it, I also…"
