Designing My Life
When I study web design, I sometimes think about the concept of design and have a Gestaltzerfall (Gestalt decomposition).
In Japanese, we generally use the word “design” in an aesthetic sense, such as illustration or decoration, but that is only a part of “design” in English.
The word “design” refers to the preparation of functions, etc. that are necessary for the stage of producing the envisioned finished product.
The word is an easy-to-use one that can include a variety of concepts such as “a guideline for planning and action”.
***
We call the planning and selection of occupations in life “career design”.
I have heard the term many times before, but I never really grasped the essence of it until now.
At the university I attended, there was a lot of guidance on job-hunting, and seminars on career design were held many times since when I was a freshman.
I was vaguely concerned about my future, so I made sure to attend every seminar.
Thanks to these seminars, I was able to learn about the actual job-hunting process in Japan and acquired job-hunting techniques such as how to respond appropriately to a job interview, resume writing, and how to solve the SPI examination. However, I didn’t have a chance to think about the true meaning of career design.
When it came time to start job-hunting in my junior year, I still hadn’t found what I wanted to do. As a result, I compromised and joined an IT company as an engineer. After that, I changed companies and worked abroad, but I spent 5 years of my career without being convinced.
Career design is not just about job-hunting, but about designing how I will organize my life. Therefore, it is necessary to take it in a broader sense, and not just in terms of the techniques.
I was so concerned about techniques that I spent time without grasping the essence of career design.
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Now I am based in Georgia without a job.
Every day I wonder “What am I doing in Georgia now?” It is indeed a very strange state of affairs to be spending every day without a job in Georgia, a country that is unfamiliar to Japanese people.
The ideal career design is to work at what you like and are good at.
However, I am not sure what I like and what I am good at.
I have a feeling that I liked creating web designs, so I am going in that direction. However, there are moments when I hesitate to move forward due to a weak sense of my responsibility.
Even now, I feel like I am wandering around in a dark cloud with no way out.
***
I believe that life is like painting on a white canvas.
When you are just born, it is a blank canvas. With each experience, the paint of skill is acquired and a picture is painted on the canvas.
Some people’s work is more unified and chic, while others are more colorful and vibrant. No two works are the same, and a painting can continue to be painted until death.
I live my life.
I have recently become very conscious of this thing.
First of all, I design my life. I look back on the 28 years I have lived so far, know my current feeling in detail, and set a guideline for the next 60 years or so.
I am going to take my perspective of working and earning off the table and try to have an idea of what kind of life I want to lead and what kind of picture I want to paint.
What I used to think I was serious about was actually not serious at all, and I was always comparing myself to others and not having my core value.
Don’t be in a hurry, don’t live fast, and take my own pace.
I feel that the time has finally come for me to face myself.
Arigato!
