How to be independent
How I did it: I tried, and failed, and tried again. I still occasionally fail, but
I've gotten so good trying again that now it's a seamless process.
Success doesn't mean not failing, it means having the tenacity to keep
on going regardless of setbacks and failures.
Lessons & tips: Become your own most trusted friend, advisor, and mentor. If you're
really needy, experiment for a while with thinking through your
decisions and plans as if you were your own parent. Don't second guess
yourself, and remember that if you make a mistake, it'll almost always
be OK. As long as you don't cause irreparable harm to yourself or anyone else, be confident in the knowledge that no matter how badly you
fuck up, you can probably make it better. Don't take yourself too
seriously, and remember that you only get one life, so (within reason)
do whatever it takes to enjoy it!
Always know what you
want. If you don't know what you want, then ask yourself honestly. If
you still can't figure it out, pretend you know what you want. You'll
know soon enough, and in the meantime don't worry about it, just enjoy
yourself.
Resources: Google calendar helped in that it let me organize my academic, social
and work life in one place and most importantly, you can set reminders
for yourself with it about due dates, events, or just random things
that you need to remember, and you can send them to your email or phone
via SMS. My Mom uses post it notes for reminders. My Calendar sends me
text message reminders at the precise minute I need to receive them.
Who needs a secretary when we have the Internet?
For men, I recommend reading an ebook by David DeAngelo or "The Game" by Neil Strauss.
