Progress Requires Idealism

Schools and parents should encourage young people to be idealistic about their goals.

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"An idealistic vision is what motivates all of us. We want to know that we are working toward something consequential, something noble. This simple truth applies to every single person within your organization, from the receptionists to the general managers. That is the real job of a true leader — to offer a vision that inspires and motivates."

-Douglas R. Conant, The Power of Idealistic-Realism: Great Leaders Inspire and Transform 

There are few if any children who actually know what they want to grow up to be. I, for example, wanted to be a family doctor to care for my elderly parents until I grew a fear of blood and dissection. Furthermore, my intended major out of high school was accounting. Surprising, I eventually chose computer science, an area of study that is far from my childish dreams and even further from my realistic standpoint. Out of high school, I believe that it was important to be realistic about career goals because that puts bread on the table. However, I have since realized that is important to dream bigger. To truly enjoy life and succeed, we must have idealistic goals that motivate us. These goals will ensure that we are happy in life doing what we love and still succeeding in life.

Honestly, I was an incapable programmer during my high school years. I failed every AP Computer Science exam, but the final project inspired me. It made me feel like programming could progress the world further than any human could have imagined. Although I was a terrible programmer, I wanted to change the world by challenging myself. At the time I switched my major, I thought I was being incredibly idealistic. It was not about the money but rather about ability. I kept wondering if I really had the ability to pursue a career that required such mental capability. What if I failed? Was it too unrealistic to pursue a career I knew my capabilities were lacking for?

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When I entered college, my programming capabilities grew exceptionally. I was on top of my class and it all suddenly made sense to me. "Classes", "objects", and "instances" are all terms that I tried desperately to understand in high school. However, suddenly, they all made sense. It felt great knowing I could be idealistic in life and actually succeed at it. I continue to hone my goals and aspire for even more demanding and idealistic ones. As Coach Scott said in his article, Idealist vs. Realist, "dreams are meant to be followed." The bigger we dream, the more we will succeed and aspire for even greater success.

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I thought I would never succeed in this major, but I have proven myself to my employees, my professors, and my colleagues that I am capable at what I do and at what I want to do. If possible, I would like to expand accessible technology for the visually impaired. Although it is such a small focus, it is definitely needed because every one in this world deserves to benefit from technology. 

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I aspire to be a user interface and user experience designer because to me it is an art. I never thought I would aspire to be anything related art because of my poor drawing skills. However, user interface and user experience truly requires a creative, innovative, and detail-oriented mind.I may not be able to program complex algorithms in assembly code, but I can design a webpage much better than anyone with my level of experience. 

I honestly believe that to succeed in life, you must be able to idealistic rather than realistic. There is no motivation without goals and no goals without dreams. Therefore, never forget to dream even when you feel your success is enough. It is important to teach young child and adults the significance of dreams. Those who aspire will achieve. Even if they never achieve their entire goal, they will be on their way there. That is much more successful than never having started. 

References:
Asai, S. (n.d.). Growing Forward. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://corporatelifecoach.blogspot.com/2012/01/idealist-vs-realist.html

Conant, D. (2012, January 12). The Power of Idealistic-Realism: How Great Leaders Inspire and Transform. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-power-of-idealistic-realis