Being a graduate in a premier university still puts ​you at the bottom of the food chain. They don't ​tell you that you not only compete with your ​batchmates in landing a job–you also compete ​with skilled UP graduates who have past ​experience.

You need to keep learning and excelling because for you and your ​skills to be in demand, you need to strive to be a little better than those ​who came before you, those who are your age group, and the newer ​generation who may come after you. The problem with many Filipinos ​is that we are so afraid of competition, not necessarily because we ​envy their excellence, but rather we feel threatened that their ​excellence would overthrow our security. We do not so much as desire ​to be in their place as much as we feel like we will be robbed of ​something due to their presence. And this was a common theme that ​I've seen in many people over the years. Those who know that they did ​not elevate their skills and competencies feel scared of innovation and ​new ideas that may rock their beliefs and comfort zone. And you, as a ​fresh graduate, may feel like you need to stop learning, to settle, ​because subconsciously you have this desire to get the approval of ​older colleagues.

So the first thing I would tell you is this: you need to keep moving ​forward. Do not follow people's advice just because they are older, ​because many of them give advice not to your betterment, but for ​their own ego. The first thing you have to see before believing ​someone is the state of their relationships, career, and growth. If the ​person is not a role model in any of these aspects, best be wary of ​believing what they say. And especially don't believe them if they like ​talking behind people's backs often. It is very hard to get wisdom from ​someone who enjoys speaking ill of other people. I do remember when ​I wanted to enter as a research assistant instead of practicing as a ​clinician back when I was 22. A new entrepreneur aged 25 at that ​time, told me that being a research assistant was being a "slave to ​doctors"–that you do a lot of the groundwork but they get all the ​credit. He was telling me it was foolish to want to be a research ​assistant because I was on the road to abuse.

Fast forward to 2022, I have had so many opportunities, skills, and ​connections from working in research and this man ended up broke, ​and went back to his home country. He might have given me advice ​free from malice, but was limited, nevertheless, because of his ​inexperience. Although some workplaces are truly toxic, many of the ​jobs available are only branded as abusive because people do not want ​the pangs of growth and learning. Some people do not want to do ​certain tasks because they feel like it's "not part of their job", even if ​that could have been a wonderful opportunity to grow.

For example, if you were given the task to organize a training and this ​included communicating with stakeholders, and planning the venue, ​and accounting all the expenses, etc. One can complain that it is not ​part of their usual tasks as an office worker and fail to see how that ​activity could be an opportunity to practice organization skills, ​enhance negotiation skills, and sharpen financial skills. It can also be ​the other way around. Some people feel that they have had such a ​technical training that they shouldn't be doing mundane tasks. I ​remember a past colleague tell me, as we were stapling data collection ​forms, "We studied in UP, and then we just end up stapling forms? ​We're being paid for these tasks?" and kept telling me what a waste of ​time it was.

And I saw that the more that people are grateful, ​the more opportunities are given to them.

It's unfortunate to see how we lose sight of gratitude because of ​repetition in our workplace. I've worked in places where people would ​complain for being paid Php 22,000 pesos a month and stapling forms. ​And I've had colleagues who would complain for being given technical ​tasks while being paid Php 110,000 pesos a month. I came to realize ​that people are unsatisfied with their jobs not for how much they ​make or what tasks they were doing; it was simply the disconnect ​from the face of gratitude. And I saw that the more that people are ​grateful, the more opportunities are given to them. At the end of the ​day, if you have great work ethic and a grateful heart, it isn't impossible ​to thrive in whatever path you choose to take.

And speaking of path, that isn't something you discover immediately ​after you graduate too. Your passion is what you end up being good at ​because you do it for a prolonged period of time. You cannot just wake ​up one day and say you are passionate in doing something that you ​haven't done repeatedly before. A lot of fresh graduates feel lost ​because they think they are doing something that they are not ​passionate about. And that's probably true, because you haven't done ​it long enough for you to actually be competent and feel proud about ​it. It's a learning process. Sometimes it feels as though we want to ​achieve "success" as fast as possible, but not wanting to go through all ​the emotional roller coaster that's necessary to get there. We want to ​earn the most money with the least amount of effort. We want ​something to be proud about without shedding humiliating things ​about ourselves.

And probably one of the saddest things I've seen is how people force ​excellence in the shortest amount of time possible that instead of ​learning, it ends up being a traumatic and toxic experience. They burn ​out, then they demand that the world has to adjust to them because it ​destroyed their humanity, their soul. But for many of these cases, it's ​the lack of patience to become good at something. Dear graduate, you ​must understand that your confusion and the absence of a sense of ​purpose now is not something to fear. It is something to embrace and ​feel in its fullness. Our humanity is wrapped with the good and the bad, ​the confusion and the certainty, and the positive and the negative, for ​us to be able to have a sense of fulfillment.

So enjoy the journey, be grateful each step of the way for the good and ​the bad, and keep sharpening your skills with patience. Then one day, ​you'll be surprised how far you got with the right mindset.

Rooting for you.