When I was studying physics at the ETH Zürich, I found myself often imagining what it would be like to be one of the top students. I imagined giving lectures to the freshmen and offering them a guiding hand as they were adapting to the tough student life at the ETH.
Retrospectively, I was an absolute moron. I gave in to a dream-like fantasy instead of facing what lied ahead, which was my studies. I escaped into a nicer and better future, since I struggled with the present so much. This among other things eventually led to my exclusion from studying physics.
I just read the chapter ‘Talk, talk, talk’ in ‘Ego is the Enemy’ by Ryan Holiday. The message in this chapter resonated very much with me. There is a time for talk and there is a time for work. One does not substitute the other. Although, in my case I was not talking but dreaming, the problem is the same. My lesson and summary of this chapter:
Talk the talk. Work the work.
With that in mind came also the conviction, which I stay true to:
Work will always be work. The only thing we can do about that, is to learn to enjoy the process.
