There are different states of mind and different ways of thinking among people.
It might not be obvious if certain questions are not asked, but it is shocking and inspiring once encountered. It feels like I am meeting with another species; we look alike, but we think so differently.
In the design class this week, the lecturer asked us to think about what it takes to make the Apple Watch fitness app and the sectors that are behind the product. I immediately thought of software engineers and designers. That is how I categorize things. But I heard my classmates mention sports experts and the expected answer from the lecturer is the subdivided categories of design, like user interface design, graphic design, and such. Just within this simple question, three people are already giving three different answers, three people thinking in three different ways and in different dimensions.
The former question might reveal that people think in different aspects, people think in different levels too. There is a ‘hierarchy’ in the level of thoughts, not related to right or wrong, but related to the state of mind.
I was reading Zero to One recently and there is this line:
It does matter what you do. You should focus relentlessly on something you’re good at doing, but before that you must think hard about whether it will be valuable in the future.
It instantly reminds me of the first time that I was questioned about the reason why I chose my career. It was a discussion about our future career path at that time, and there was a question raised: how do you think your job can make the world a better place? What good are you doing to this world through your job?
I was so shocked at that time. I have never ever think about my job in the perspective of the good it is going to bring to the world, I only have considered the money it is going to bring me.
For the quote from the book the same, I have only considered what I am good at and what is going to make enough money to sustain my lifestyle; I have never considered it to be valuable in the future. Well, I mean I definitely have thought about it, I will not dive into a career that doesn’t have a future, but in considering its future, I am focusing on whether the industry will still exist and will be demanding talented employees just like me(jk) but never really considered what value it could bring in the future.
Looking back on these kinds of moments, I am genuinely amazed by how different people are. There is no right or wrong in any way of thinking; what truly fascinates me is how diverse people’s ways of thinking are. The experience of discovering and understanding them is so interesting and inspiring, even eye-opening. Sometimes, being exposed to different viewpoints can be confusing until that “aha!” moment, realizing that “wow, I have thinking of it this way, and I never would. We are so different.” That is what I love and find beautiful.