I remember being in high school, sitting in algebra II and writing schedules.
Back then, I had a strict layout for how my schedule was put together along with a host of other arbitrary details that I would write down along with it. I used to waste tons of time and energy painstakingly hand-writing each day's plans on their own side of paper.
It was one of the dumbest schedule systems I ever used but that's for a different post.
The fact that I did it in class was probably one of the goofiest things I ever did, too.
You never want to work on schedules or anything else that could be linked to personal development or your goals during school for a variety of reasons.
First, it makes you look like a tryhard. Law #30 in the 48 Laws of Power is "Make Your Accomplishments seem effortless. As a professional, you are supposed to make things look easy and when you are grinding all the time, it’s an ugly look.
It makes you look uptight, and no one wants to associate with someone who is always uptight.
Some people may ask "I thought you were supposed to be grinding all the time? Outwork everybody right?" Yes and no. Do outwork everyone; don't make other people feel inferior in the process, which is what doing your work in a public environment is liable to do.
When people see you chasing goals, they are likely to be envious. They will be jealous that you have the guts to step out of your comfort zone when they don’t.
On the surface, there is no problem with this. Being successful requires some disregard towards other people’s opinions.
The problem arises when they start to passive-aggressively undermine your efforts. The thing is, when people are jealous they won’t say it to your face; they probably won’t say anything at all. They’ll reveal it through their actions.
Here’s what will happen: You will have someone who you thought was your friend take an action (or inaction) that you didn’t expect. You think to yourself “Did they really just do that?” and you’ll be dumbfounded for a little bit because you can’t figure out why.
What happened was you inadvertently made them feel inferior. Humans don’t like that.
Instead, take considerable precaution to not get caught doing personal development or other personal-goal-related task around other people. Law #30 in The 48 Laws of Power is “Conceal Your Intentions.” If you must put in some work at school, hide it from teachers and peers.
Sit in the back, dim the screen on your laptop, tell them it's something else. Resist the urge to tell them what you are really working on. This can be tuff sometimes because we are all excited about where we are going.
As a general rule, the only people who need to know are the people who can help you. The rest, keep a good relationship with, and save them in case they become useful in the future.
Do your hard work in the dark and only show the results in the light.
One final law for you: Law #38: Think as you like but behave like others. “Don’t make a show of being different or people will think you look down on them and will retaliate against you.”
Athlete-Student
BucketsoverBooks
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