As a child, my dream was to be the king of soccer and the best striker in the world.
My dream job was always to be a soccer player, as written on the bulletin board at the back of the classroom.
But my parents, who watched me kick the ball on the playground, must have realized early on that I was no Son Heung-min.
My dad, with his mediocre skills, would have been better off carrying a kettle than a regular player in the neighborhood soccer club, and he put a super-powerful eagle shot right into my chest.
Instead, he told me to go to medical school and become a doctor since I was good at studying, and to become a successful doctor and join the medical soccer club.
From that day on, my future dream in my life record was to become a doctor.
When people around me asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered that I wanted to be a doctor, and the way adults looked at me changed.
Sometimes, even though I'm not a doctor, I feel an inexplicable sense of pride just by talking about my future aspirations.
The little kids who dreamed of becoming soccer kings obviously had no idea what doctors, lawyers, and judges do and what values ​​they pursue.
We just nodded because we made a lot of money and because our parents and teachers taught us to do it without asking or questioning.
Starting with my future aspirations, my standards for success gradually shifted to financial ones.
As I get older, the importance of money becomes more acute.

--- From "Where can you get trouble when you can't even make money"

Adriano has been preparing for the exam steadily for four years.
Don't you applaud my friend's perseverance and determination in challenging the civil service exam for four years? I thought it was admirable that he was taking on the highly competitive 9th-grade civil service exam.

When he first started studying, Adriano was full of enthusiasm.
He said he would study every day except for the 8 hours he sleeps.
No, but I still need to eat, take a short break, shower, and have a bowel movement, so I said I would devote a generous 14 hours to studying for the exam.

Adriano entered the Gosi Village in Seoul with a strong will and a determination to tell his parents and friends.
He left a message asking for understanding even if he couldn't see her for a while, saying that he would give her a lot of money if she passed and got a green card.
The following year, Adriano returned to his hometown.
The story I heard from Adriano, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was quite surprising.
(syncopation)
The news of Adriano's failure was heard like an annual event.
Isn't that obvious? The guy who prepared for the civil service exam for over three years actually spent a year immersed in nightlife in Noryangjin, a year immersed in YouTube, and a year immersed in Netflix.

Perhaps it was because I saw myself in his image? I unknowingly became angry at Adriano, telling him to stop wasting my time.
Adriano also raised his voice, saying that he only acts like this when he meets me, but that he also listens attentively to lectures at home.

--- From "Professional Mental Winner"

Most people in South Korea are future-oriented.
Be going to is included in every conversation.
“Ah, I’m going to quit smoking now! I’ll just finish this pack.
“Since it’s the last one, I have to make it taste even better.”
This guy is still a patriot.
I diligently pay more than 3,000 won in taxes to the government every day.

Wow, what a model taxpayer.

(syncopation)
Everything is fun during exam period.
Why couldn't I enjoy these little everyday pleasures?
'I have to sit at my desk for 30 minutes,' I promise.

'33 minutes? Oh, 3 minutes have passed.' At times like this, my selective obsession kicks in.

'okay.
30 minutes was a bit ambiguous in the first place.
Okay, I have to study from the hour.
I need to read the remaining webtoons quickly without any regrets.'
So I ended up reading three webtoons in a row.
Although I didn't meet my study goal, I was happy while reading webtoons.
Now I can focus on my studies starting tomorrow.
Yeah, let's just take today as a day off.
I was a little worried, wondering if it was just me, but then I looked at Instagram and saw that everyone else seemed to have fun during exam periods, so I felt relieved.

--- From "Why are you putting it off so much?"

People who criticize YOLO say this:

What if you get sick later or something big happens?
For a stable future, preparation is necessary, even if it means sacrificing a little of the present.
It's a worry that can be fully addressed.
And that makes sense.
However, I am not talking about YOLO in the sense of 'living for the impulsive pleasure of the present!'
What is YOLO for me?
The feeling you get when you buy everything you want is likely just a momentary joy.
Have you ever spent money to satisfy fleeting pleasures, only to find your wallet thinner and then skimp on where you really needed to spend it? The actions you took to make yourself happy actually led you further away from it.
(syncopation)
Do successful friends live only at the expense of the present? They, too, live their own version of the YOLO life.
However, they had a dream and chose 'happiness in a different sense' by achieving their goals one by one to make that dream come true.
That was different for me.

--- From "Where Have All the YOLO People Gone?"

Often, people rush into business thinking that they too will succeed if they see someone around them doing well.

I have a knack for it, so I think I can set up something similar to what's trending these days. For the food, I think I can quickly develop it by referencing some open source recipes. If I ask people I know who have a strong presence in the area to promote it, people will come, so I guess I'll just have to do it cleverly!
But the result is obvious.
At first, it seems like things are going well by getting 'open red', but eventually, after barely paying the rent, you end up earning less than when you were working part-time.
This is a story we often encounter around us.
There is a common line that job seekers often utter after failing to find a job.
Should I prepare for the civil service exam?
Should I do YouTube?
This comment can be easily heard among office workers.
On days when I'm very stressed, the desire to quit comes flooding back.
Oh, should I just throw it all away and start a business?
I know you're saying this because the situation you're in right now is so difficult, and you want to create a turning point in your life.
--- From "Boss, business?"

“Oh, Mom! I was going to eat a sandwich in the morning and then go take the test.”
“I threw it away because it looked bad.
“Go buy some more at the bakery on your way, I’ll give you money.”
“Oh, I just don’t want to eat it.
“Something is not going well today.”
Azar was needlessly annoyed, thinking that he could have just bought a sandwich.
To make matters worse, the buses going to the test site were so crowded that people got off in the middle and transferred to another bus.
Murphy's Law is annoying.
Of course, if something doesn't go as planned, it can be very energy-consuming and frustrating.
Because exam days can be especially sensitive.
Azar had a gut feeling that the test that day was a failure.
As he left the examination room, Azar became angry.
“It was the sandwich that ruined my day.
Why did Mom throw away the sandwich?
Nothing works.
“Oh, I’m stressed.”
Hazard also reportedly played FIFA all night long, claiming it was a way to relieve stress.
Our people are accustomed to blaming their failures on the environment.

If you stop looking for problems within yourself and look outside yourself, your mind may feel temporarily at ease.

But apart from driving home the point that it's a burden to our parents, the habit of blaming others makes our lives difficult.
If you don't make an effort to find your own problems and mistakes and solve them yourself, your problems will never be solved.

--- From "This is his fault, that is his fault"

Don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying that we should follow their words because we too can become dragons.
I want to tell you what the dragon created in place of the Yeouiju.

In those days, the 'adults' were also like countless lizards in the stream, watching the dragon's ascension.
They compare the rough and tumble of their past with the present.
Compared to that time, the environment in which people in their 20s and 30s live today is so abundant and peaceful that they should be thankful.
right.
We didn't have to make life-or-death efforts to adapt to the external environment.
In the end, we grew up 'prettily' without knowing the world outside the greenhouse.
So, who created that 'greenhouse'?
(syncopation)
I really don't know what I want to do.

What do I really like?
I never had the opportunity to find the answer to this question myself during my school days.
On a dark night, I was busy pretending to study in the dimly lit reading room, and these inner questions were gradually pushed back by the math homework that was due the next day.
(syncopation)
"What if the other path leads to a cliff? The path I've taken so far has been fine, so is there any need to seek another path?"
Lizards that have lost their sense of direction live in such a huddled state.
All we can do is cry our eyes out.
If you force your own 'success formula' on others, you will become an 'old fart' regardless of your age.

The established lizards have lived a difficult life, having to endure rapid currents.
Even so, these days, lizards raised in greenhouses have also survived through fierce competition in their own way.
We are only at fault for adapting and conforming too well to our environment.
In the greenhouse that adults have created.
--- From "The Lizard in the Greenhouse"

We are lizards in a greenhouse.
I thought they were all the same lizard, but it turns out they all have slightly different patterns.
Among them, there are some who boast of a flashy design called 'test score'.
And they naturally catch the attention of adults.

'That's not a lizard, that's a dragon!'
'If he keeps growing like this, he'll be a great guy.'
'I wish I could raise a dragon like that!'
No one paid attention to my blurry patterns.
People around me tell me to try drawing my friend's pattern.
Then, he advises that in the future, it may be possible to become something like 'Imugi'.
The adults' affection and envy were always monopolized by the lizards with their colorful patterns, and they were easily forgiven even when they bit and hurt other lizards.
The lizard's name is 'Eomchin-ah'.
Coincidentally, there is always at least one 'mom's friend' around us who is good at studying, sports, and does everything well.
One day, I was so upset that I talked back to my mom.
“No, he must have been born with good genes.
“I have my mother’s hair, so what can I do?”
“Hey! Aren’t you telling me not to live like this because you can’t study like me?”
I have to eat dinner tonight, so I decided not to argue any further.
--- From "Even lizards have their own patterns"

'Decision paralysis' is a new word that means not being able to make a decision easily and hesitating when faced with a choice.
You've probably had the experience of having a hard time deciding what menu to choose at a restaurant or cafe.
Why is it so hard for people to even decide what to eat?
We instinctively try to make the best choice.
If you have so much money that you can't even spend it, you can just order everything on the menu and try them one by one, whether you like it or not.
But our small and cute balance makes me think about which menu will give me the most satisfaction at the most reasonable price.
(syncopation)
People live without knowing much about themselves.
There are many people who don't even know what they like and dislike.

“What is your favorite food?”
“I don’t have any particular food preference, I like them all.”
“Then what food do you dislike?”
“I really can eat anything, so there’s nothing I dislike.”
In other words, people who live their lives without any particular hesitation can be said to be people who do not have any specific tastes.
Since I don't have any particular taste, I have a hard time choosing a menu and it's not easy to make a decision.
For those who have a hard time making decisions, having the BEST sign on the menu can be a huge help.
But unfortunately, there is no such thing as a BEST menu in life.
So, how can we know our tastes in life if we don't even know our tastes in food?
Since we have the 'experience' of eating food, we know whether it is tasty or not.
But I have never experienced my future.
There are so many important decisions to make as we go through life.
Major, job, marriage, etc.
How can we make the best choices?
--- From "If you can't even decide what to eat for lunch, how are you going to decide what to eat for your life?"

I don't know what I should do or what I like, but I feel like this can't go on, so I'm going to try my best.
But struggling without direction only wastes energy.
Now, I really feel like I don't have the strength to even flinch a little.

It's burnout.

Burnout without doing anything!
If you burn out without putting in much effort, you are bound to face even greater frustration.
No, is burnout even real? Isn't that what you feel when you're working yourself to death? I'm not sure about that. I just wish I could lie under the covers for the rest of my life, taking nutritional supplements or injections.
What should you do when you're exhausted both physically and mentally, experiencing burnout? Having already poured all the strength you had, the advice to "learn from failure and grow from it" is no longer heard.
Whether I fail or not, it's my life, so just stop worrying and live well on your own.
Because I can't eat it anymore!
In the end, he declares that he is giving up on the race of life.
But once we are born, our race never ends.
Whether you crawl, walk, run, or go back the way you came, life goes on.
--- From "It's okay to take a break when things get tough, as long as you don't try to wrap it in romance"

After work, I drag my tired body to the fitness center and work out hard.
Pizza, chicken, and tteokbokki, which I used to eat whenever I was stressed, are also saying goodbye for a while.
The drinking appointments that used to be my responsibility on Fridays are also gone for the time being.
A week later, I step on the scale, full of anticipation, wondering, 'How much weight have I lost?'

Do expectations have weight?
Maybe because I had such high expectations, my weight is still the same.
The trainer says it's because I'm losing body fat and gaining muscle, but my body fat is pretty much the same.
I thought I worked hard, but nothing changed.
My passion, which had been burning brightly for a while, was swept away by the sense of doubt that was creeping in.
Give up on dieting.

Some people might criticize me, saying, “Hey, if you expect change after only a week, you’re a thief!”
Well then, let's go over the plans we each made at the beginning of the year.

Are you working hard and believing in your efforts until the end?
Or do you have a thief mentality, betraying your efforts and just hoping for things to happen?
If you want to consistently practice anything, you have to accept that the arrogance of effort is very high.

Effort never betrays.
One day it will come to us with a great reward.
So, trust and enjoy the process!
But it's not easy for the agaris.

--- From "My efforts are not immediately rewarded"