In Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, Tom Cruise plays a cop, who’s part of a special pre-crime unit. Three seers, so-called pre-cogs, can predict murders and thus, the police can prevent them.
But one day, Cruise’s character, John Anderton, suddenly sees himself as an alleged future murderer.
The system ejects wooden balls – red ones with the victims’ names and brown ones with those of the perpetrators. Sure enough…
Sometimes, it takes the whole system to turn on you for you to realize: maybe you’re playing the wrong game.
Just like Anderton finds out in the movie, I think if you look at your situation objectively, you’ll see that the system you’re in is rigged against you.
Not being used to studying 10+ hours a day is the least of your problems, I think.
Here’s what you’re really not used to, what no human is used to, nor ever should be:
Thinking ONE outside event that’s mostly out of your control will determine your life.
Anyone would get depressed if they truly believed that. Luckily, it’s nonsense.
- You didn’t pick the subjects.
- You had no impact on the material.
- You didn’t select the format of the test.
- You weren’t the one who decided one test would decide everything.
- You didn’t set the time frame to study.
- You won’t be involved in choosing the exam questions.
Maybe you didn’t even choose the school, the degree or the program, because your parents pushed you into it and you’re more afraid of their opinion than your own unhappiness. Maybe.
Clearly, whoever designed the system does not want to make you look too good.
So why bother playing their game?
Do you really believe that if you fail this, there is nothing else you can do?
Ha! Yeah, right.
I say screw that system. Screw waiting to be picked by some random gatekeeper that’s out to get you. Choose yourself. Life is short. And full of opportunity.
Do the best you can, but start your own business on the side. Freelance. Write on Quora. Make a vlog. Launch a podcast. Bootstrap a startup.
Work 10 hours on something you actually care about, then study.
Once you believe in the game you’re playing, everything changes. Most of all, believe you can win. Because if you don’t, you’ve already lost before you start playing.
One line John Anderton keeps repeating in the movie is “everybody runs.” We all try to escape the systems that chase us. But sometimes, running faster isn’t the answer.
What it takes John a while to understand, but what I think you too will learn to see, is something at first only the pre-cogs know: You can choose.
