33 Mindsets You Should Have Before 35

Author: Wang Xingjian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Every task deserves to be done with dedication.
In this world, no one can avoid the word "dedication." Only through dedication can one achieve success. To accomplish anything, one must be fully committed; conversely, with full commitment, one will naturally adopt a highly responsible, meticulous, and striving-for-excellence attitude and work ethic, thereby accomplishing and doing well the task. It is clear that "dedication" is the quality of young people under 35 in doing things, and the prerequisite and guarantee for career success.
Every task in work is worth doing, and it should be done with full focus. The Louvre houses an oil painting by Monet depicting a scene in a convent's kitchen. The ones working in the painting are not ordinary people but a group of angels. One is boiling water on the stove, another is elegantly lifting a kettle, and another, dressed as a kitchen maid, is reaching for utensils with one hand—this is the most ordinary labor of daily life, yet the angels are doing it with complete focus and meticulousness.
The nature of an action itself does not determine its quality; rather, it is determined by the mental state in which we perform it. Whether work feels tedious or boring often depends on our mood at the time.
The ideal of life runs through the entire course of it. The posture you display in your actions distinguishes you from others around you. Your attitude toward work may broaden your horizons, or it may narrow them; it may elevate the profession you are engaged in, or it may degrade it. All work holds profound significance in life.
Are you an architect? Do you feel the poetry between bricks and mortar? Are you a librarian? Through hard work, do you sense yourself in the vast ocean of knowledge during breaks in organizing books? Are you a teacher? Do you find daily educational work monotonous? Or perhaps, the moment you see your students, you become incredibly patient, and all frustration vanishes.
If we only view our profession from the perspective of others or measure it by worldly standards, our labor might indeed seem lifeless, monotonous, and meaningless, as if it holds no appeal or value. This is like observing the windows of a grand cathedral from the outside.