This is Jonah Ardiel's BLOG.

I’m incredibly lucky. I have a supportive family, good friends, financial independence, and have otherwise lived happily so far. I went through university receiving decent grades and getting heavily involved in extra-curricular programs. I was fortunate to get elected by my peers to represent the interests of students and advocate for their interests during a year-long term in student government. This experience cultivated a sense of drive in me to go after the things I want in life in a headstrong no excuses kind of way with the understanding of “what it takes” to “make it”. I also gained vital and unique work experience and was able to finance a 3-month travel journey following my graduation last June. I went to Nepal to see the Himalayas, I saw the East Side Gallery in Berlin, I ate the best waffles in the world in Belgium, and I swam in Loch Ness, the home of the legendary sea monster ‘Nessie’. Part way through my university career I knew where I wanted to end up - working for a not-for-profit as a marketer. Following my trip to Nepal/Western Europe, I was fortunately able to find a job that matched this description in a matter of weeks. I’m two weeks into the job now and am already starting to see the different roads available to me moving forward in life.

I have the opposite of a problem - I have too many solutions. I know this sounds arrogant and self-indulgent and I fully recognize how privileged and lucky I am to be in a position where I have ample opportunity. I empathize with the majority of my peers who still “don’t know” what to do. In a way, you could say my situation is roughly the same. However, I am arguing that the distinction between my circumstances and others is that I have the capability to pursue multiple objectives and simply don’t know which of these objectives I should be prioritizing. Now that I’ve “made it” so to speak I’ve realized (very quickly) that the process of achievement is far more superior to me than the achievement itself. After completing my first marathon last year I faced on a brief period of depression because I no longer knew what to do. After my reaching my career objective I found myself in a similar situation. What’s next? What should I do now to live the life I truly desire and be the person I truly want to be. The prospect of staying stagnant in my current role or simply “moving up the organizational ladder” depresses me and doesn’t quench my thirst for new and stimulating life experiences and risk-tolerant adventure. Basically, I’m greedy for more and will perpetually feel pulled in new and exciting directions. I never want to settle.

With this in mind, the source of an area of discomfort and unhappiness for me is my inability to effectively translate my thoughts into action. As someone who is still relatively young and relatively “successful” in different areas of my life I find myself at a crossroads - there are too many things I want to achieve and not enough time to do it all. I love learning - I want to get more degrees in areas that interest me for the plain fact that I find them intriguing. I’d love to get an astronomy degree. Or a philosophy degree. I also love to write - I enjoy the process of conveying inner thoughts to an audience through the medium of text in a creative and tangible way. I want to build a writing portfolio I can be proud of. I want to be an author one day. I want to utilize this skill to turn the lessons I’ve learned in life into advice for others, but do it in a creative way through the invention of characters in a story. I like performance-based art, I enjoy open mic performances - I want to get better at this aspect of my life. I adore running. Running is what keeps me going in life, literally AND metaphorically. I’ll never stop. The days I run are the days I’m a) most productive and b) happiest. In the past when I was volunteering with multiple social agencies I discovered what it takes to find purpose behind existence. I want to actively give my time to do more direct intervention in the community. I have a lot of friends who I don’t spend enough time with and probably deserve more of my time. I have a loving and supportive partner who I’m unwilling to sacrifice time with. These are some of my compulsions. The problem is - my life is TOO good right now. 90% of my time is filled with things I’m not necessarily willing to sacrifice. In the remaining 10% of time I have to spare, I find myself trying to balance all of these things at once.

Just graduated and got the good fortune of finding a job? Here are some subjective tips that make work easier, more fun, and make you look good in the process. (Yes, these are mostly personal standards of excellence but maybe YOU! random reader can benefit too).

+ ALWAYS show up early. It doesn’t matter if you ‘don’t have anything to do’ or have no morning appointments. Create stuff to do. Punctuality is important - it shows professionalism, maturity, and respect for your colleagues and the organization.

+ Eat a banana in the morning. Bananas 4 LYFE, yo.

+ ONLY drink one coffee. I’ve gone through stages in my life where I’ve operated solely on coffee and while it definitely perks you up a bit for a short time you can become dependent on it quickly, which is dangerous.

+ In extension to the point above, stay hydrated. Coffee is a diuretic, meaning it dehydrates you. Contrary to popular belief, coffee actually worsens concentration and focus, not improves it. Keep a water bottle at your desk and stay healthy.

+ Wear something different every day. People notice appearances more than you think. Look good = feel good = BE good.

+ Compliment people. Receiving a compliment is one of the best things that can happen to a person in a day. But with this in mind, it HAS to be genuine because a disingenuous compliment is worse than not getting a compliment. Also, don’t dilute the effect of the compliment by giving TOO many compliments. As a side note: don’t complain either. No one likes complainers.

+ Get involved socially. A colleague or manager asks you to play broomball with them - DO IT. Accept without hesitation. It’s hard to lose a job if people like you even if you’re bad in your role.

+ Get to know people outside of your “scope”. Who cares if you’ll never work with that dude Jim. Take an interest in peoples lives and they’ll reciprocate. Besides maybe you’ll need these people for something in the future.

+ Stock up on stationary. Can’t be searching for a pen when you have to write something down promptly. That’s a rookie mistake.

+ Adopt a pet plant and show it the same care you would an actual pet. I don’t mean feed it dog food - THAT’S stupid. Maybe throw up some nice art (if you can). Keep the windows. There has been several studies conducted on the effect of atmosphere on the mental health of employees. It seems small but it makes a difference.

+ Have at least one day a week where you don’t work. I sync up my emails and calendars, but on Sundays I’m closed. It’s important to not become a work slave and take advantage of time off by letting yourself recharge a bit.

+ In extension to the point above, actively pursue a personal hobby. Don’t do nothing when you get home. Find some sort of purpose outside of work too so you can still find value in life. For me, I like running. Maybe you like building clocks? Maybe you could become a skilled jiu jitsu samurai. It’s as easy as taking a class in a subject you’ve always been interested in.

+ Take initiative where possible. Flex those critical thinking muscles and aid the team by coming up with solutions and ideas yourself instead of just taking directives all the time.

Graduating is scary. You’ve been in school your whole life up until this point and you’ve never experienced life outside of education. In this sense, being in school is comforting because it is stable and predictable. Graduating university is an accomplishment in it’s own right, but the harsh fact of the matter is that several graduating students (in Alberta anyways) are simply not happy with their proposition. The stress of finding a job and beginning ‘the next chapter’ is a prospect that yields a substantial amount of anxiety for many, many people. I can personally attest to this not only through my own experiences but also through several conversations with my peers.  

As a graduating student myself, “Do you have a job lined up?” and “What are you doing next year?” or variations of these questions are sentiments I hear on a near daily basis. The intent of these questions isn’t always usually malignant as much as simply a conversation starter, but because of this frequent rhetoric it’s easy to understand that a sense of pressure with attaining a socially respectable position is developed. When this pressure continues to rise without alleviation one begins to form insecurities and sometimes even more systemic concerns like anxiety or depression. Salaries and job titles determine status in our society and failing to measure up results in becoming a low-status person.