PART 1:
Follow the link to the article. Record audio or type your response to the following questions and submit.
We depart from the usual research-based articles for a provocative look at life goals. Author, entrepreneur and philosopher Mark Manson asks you to decide how you want to suffer.
This assignment is reminiscent of the Growth Mindset assignment and the Cal Newport video. We are all going to suffer, whether by being underemployed for awhile or by learning skills and building a happy life. Wanting something really, really badly is not enough.
Think again about the hero's journey in movies: What does suffering look like in a film? Yes! It's a montage of sweat and blood and struggle (set to sexy, inspiring music) that lasts about a minute. (Clock it–movie scenes are about a minute long.) Not exactly real life. So give a read to Manson's article here
1. What struggles have you enjoyed in the past?
2. What did they look like? (Use detail!)
3. What did those struggles get you?
4. Looking forward, what are you willing to suffer to finish this semester well?
5. What will those struggles look like? (Use detail.)
Later, around New Year’s, think about what you’re willing to suffer starting a career and having a great relationship. For now, though, let’s enjoy the suffering of killing it for the next six weeks.
PART 2:
Empty claims are…empty. Support your claims.
1. Choose a job or internship advertisement from the internet that interests you. Attach to your document as a screen shot. (If you only add a link, it will expire and become inaccessible.)
2. Based on the job ad, make 3 claims about yourself. Examples: "I'm attentive to detail." "I'm a creative problem solver." "I show initiative," Each claim will be the topic sentence of a paragraph that supports the claim.
3. After your topic sentence, tell a true story that gives evidence that your claim is accurate. Use a tiny bit of sensory detail. Also add quantitative (measurable) detail if applicable. Ex of quantitative: "I recouped $67,000 in past-due accounts receivable" or "I raised my gpa from 2.36 to 3.87."
The format for these stories should be as follows: the Situation or Task, the Action you took, the Results of that action, and then Turn the story toward the job ad and tell how those skills/attributes will help the company. (Remember this START method for job interviews–it's standard in employment circles.)
