“It’s okay to be shaken, you will definitely shine brightly.”

A youth career mentor writes another book about life!
Another heartfelt message from the author of "To You Who Has Nothing to Do and Nothing to Want to Do"

Children these days experience anxiety much earlier than adults think.
“What can I become when AI does everything?”, “I don’t know what to do in the AI ​​era.” Children complain.
It's not clear what you want to do or what you're good at, but the world is changing at a frighteningly fast pace, and adults just nag you to prepare.
At that moment, a sense of helplessness rather than fear takes hold in the children's hearts.
Since I can't see the path, I can't even take a single step.

The author of this book, Choi Young-sook, is a teacher who has encountered such children in the classroom and has provided career counseling with them for a long time.
For decades, I have been looking into the eyes of my students, listening to their concerns, and watching children who seemed to have given up on something shine when they meet a small opportunity.
As her experience accumulated, she became more confident.
Even if AI can readily provide answers, it's ultimately the child who finds and chooses their own path to the future. AI may be adept at complex calculations, but only humans possess the strength to endure failure and bounce back.
So the important thing is not to get rid of anxiety, but to learn how to find your own color and shine brightly within it.

Teacher Choi Young-sook emphasizes four core competencies to young people.
The power to control your mind, the habit of managing your time, the attitude to seek out learning on your own, and the power to move forward into the future.
This is the unique inner light of humans that AI can never replace.
Under each competency are 26 keywords that we should reflect on in our lives, such as comparison, mentality, empathy, learning, motivation, failure, change, and courage.
A small record accumulates to prove growth, a habit becomes ingrained and helps overcome anxiety, and a pile of questions changes your perspective on the world.
Ultimately, through this process, children will discover their own colors and walk their own paths with that light.


This book is not just a career guide.
For children, it provides warm comfort and encouragement that it is okay to be shaken, and for parents, it conveys hope that their children will not fall apart in the AI ​​era and will be able to find their own path.
In times of uncertainty, what we need most is not the perfect answer, but our own center.
The book's appeal, "Bring the light within you out into the world," is ultimately a question and a conviction for all youth and their parents.
Never giving up on the belief that a child who grows up wavering can one day shine - that belief is the most powerful force that can help us navigate these uncertain times.

** If you want to escape the comparison hell, embrace comparison as a welcome stimulus.
Comparative jealousy is the feeling that arises when someone we perceive as being on the same level as us is ahead of us.
Ordinary people do not envy those who own real estate worth hundreds of billions of won.
I'm not even a little bit envious of the Saudi Arabian prince's billions of dollars in wealth.
I feel jealous when a friend with similar grades suddenly rises in the rankings.
If you find yourself bothered by comparing yourself to others, you will know what you really want.

** Students who are good at studying are not necessarily good at studying just because they are smart.
Of course, there are some special friends with exceptional talents, but most students have similar physical and intellectual abilities.
What makes the difference is your attitude, strategy, and mental skills when studying.
When you find yourself feeling brain-tired and unable to focus, you need to ask yourself, "What study method is best suited to my current brain state?" and be flexible enough to change your method.

** In his self-help book, "Life is Nothing but Action," author Brian Tracy said, "The greatest failure is not to fail."
Failure is not a fall, it's a time to stop and look up at the stars.
It may be painful and bitter in the moment, but it is only a temporary pause on the road to better results.

** Even if you don't see it right away, small efforts can make a big difference when they accumulate.
The drops of sweat I shed today will build a stronger me, and each page I read today will become wisdom for the future.
The present time accumulates and determines the future.
Studying and reviewing the same thing over and over again every day may seem insignificant at first, but it will become your experience and qualifications.

** I have to run while thinking about where my direction is.
Of course, the path may not be a straight line.
You can either go backwards or make a U-turn and go back.
The important thing is to find meaning in the process of making efforts with self-esteem that says, "I am on the right path," and self-efficacy that says, "I can do well soon."

** Even in a world without artificial intelligence, questions changed the course of human history.
The question, “Is the Earth the center of the universe?” led to a revolution in astronomy.
“Why do apples fall?” gave us the law of universal gravitation.
“Is time absolute?” redefined the concepts of time and space.
The question “Where did humans come from?” led to the study of evolution, which revolutionized biology.

** If you don't read books, you can't escape biased and shallow thinking.
Just as a lack of vitamins can lead to various diseases, a lack of sound thinking can lead to arrogance and foolishness.
The appropriate prescription is reading.
The most effective way to make people more human is reading.

** Eyes that look sharply at everyday life become the beginning of ‘exploration.’
A scientist discovered gravity by staring at an apple for a long time.
One artist observed sunflowers for weeks before completing a masterpiece.
A certain writer wrote a poem after seeing a flower blooming on the roadside.
If you look around slowly, the world is full of interesting and curious things.
The power to hold on to curiosity without letting it go is the power of observation.
And the courage to dig a little deeper into that curiosity is the power of inquiry.

** Competence is the belief that one can successfully perform a task.
As small successes accumulate, you gain the confidence that you can do anything, which allows you to take on bigger challenges.
When a big goal feels overwhelming, break it down into smaller pieces.
Even small goals are okay.
The experience of achieving a goal is important.

** Tomorrow, another knowledge will come, but the knowledge you have today will not be useless.
Ignorance is no bliss.
Knowledge can change, but knowing is more powerful than not knowing.
Combining today's knowledge with tomorrow's knowledge will create new knowledge, and I hope you will not neglect the process of learning, even if it becomes useless tomorrow.

--- From the text