Success 2021 Series: setting the New Year’s goals? do it like the engineers!

It’s a brand new year, and for many of us, it’s also time to get started on those brand new goals and brand new resolutions. Of course, though we’re all just raring to go, many of us falter all too soon, and some of us end up failing miserably. The end result? Goals yet to be achieved, tasks undone, resolutions unresolved, checklists unchecked. But don’t you worry, it happens to the best of us, and guess what? Help is here! Let’s take a look at how the engineers do it.

This modern world couldn’t have made it this far without our engineers.  Even back in the dark ages, it was an engineer’s mind that created the wheel and discovered fire.  And what do we have to thank our engineers for today? The buildings we live and work in. Those roads and rails we travel on.  Planes, trains and automobiles. Electricity, entertainment and everything else in between. The tools we use, especially the virtually ubiquitous Internet (pun intended) and our precious smart devices. We owe them all to our engineers. Try and imagine a world without them. We’d bet you’d be as confuddled as we are imagining such a grim scenario.

Thank goodness for our past, present and future engineers, then.  Engineers have the kinds of probing minds and acquired knowledge that gives them the amazing ability to design and build complicated and intricate structures of all shapes and sizes that defy gravity, space and even time. Buildings stand tall scraping the skies, aeroplanes jet-set across the world, rockets explore outer space, messages get sent and read in nanoseconds… and the list goes on.

And how do our engineers achieve all these great feats of humanity? It’s because they’ve been trained to break down complex goals into smaller achievable and manageable steps.  The Head of SEGi College Subang Jaya’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Dr Tiu Zian Cheak, enlightens us.

 

 

The Engineer’s Way

#1: Break away from your preconceived ideas and limitations

Flying is something we do (well, pre-COVID19, anyway) without much thought, and thankfully, without much fear either. But two hundred years ago, it took the Wright Brothers the courage to challenge the law of gravity and the determination to imagine the impossible for us to be able to fly today. So, think like they did! And don’t let your preconceived ideas and notions put shackles on your abilities. Remember that our past and previous failures do not determine our future. Instead, imagine all the great things you can do, and soar to the skies just like they did!

#2: Begin with an end in mind

Before you begin anything, create a mental picture of what you want to achieve. Or better still, commit onto writing a list of your desired goals and how you might possibly achieve them. Before they begin building anything, engineers draw a blueprint of their construction.  This not only gives them a vivid idea of the end product but also presents their goals in measurable quantities and projects the potential problems that they might face and have to overcome. Come up with a list of quantifiable goals, for example, ‘to lose weight ’ is ambiguous and much harder to visualise and attain than ‘to lose ten kilos in six months’.

#3: Know yourself, know your enemy

We are our own greatest enemy. Well, our negative and unprepared minds are, rather. Setting out with a purpose is much like going out into the battlefield. If we go without weapons, a plan or a strategy, we’re inclined to be defeated. In The Art of War, the celebrated Chinese strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu stressed the importance of anticipating and understanding the possible problems and obstacles that might overwhelm us in our quest for victory. We thus have to identify the impediments and predicaments we might possibly meet along the way. For example, for each of your goals, list three possible roadblocks that you may encounter and think of ways to tear them down.

#4: Make daily progress and understand that it will get easier

Does the idea of the goal overwhelm you? We’ve all heard the proverbs that go, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take it one step at a time then. Even if they’re baby steps, each subsequent step will lead you closer to your objective.  The Ancient Egyptians, without the help of modern heavy machinery, constructed over a hundred wondrous pyramids over a period of approximately twenty years. The knowledge that it was difficult didn’t deter them. Similarly undaunted and determined, you too, can take one step at a time and know that you will eventually get to the finish line.  Be proactive, and allocate designated daily hours for you to get closer to your goal.

#5: Understand the Law of Leverage

We’ve all tried to open a jar whose lid simply won’t turn even when we’ve turned purple in the face. Heat that jar up a little, and voilà! That’s the theory of leverage, attributed to Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer who lived over two thousand years ago. By the same precept, we can heave and puff and not make something heavy budge, but when we apply a lever, physics invariably works its magic. And so it is in life as well. Sometimes we can work so hard and achieve nothing. But when we work smart, we can do wonders.

But how can we work smart when we’re not equipped with sufficient intellectual acumen? Well, we can leverage on someone else’s smartness and success. We begin at the very beginning, by finding a mentor who’s been there and done that – walked the journey and made it to the finish line. One sure way of doing this is by getting an education and learning from the experts at SEGi College Subang Jaya. We’ll teach you how to never break a sweat again opening all your real and metaphorical tightly-screwed jars.

There you have it. Success Unlimited, the (SEGi) Engineer’s Way.  So now go out there and start thinking like an engineer! (Or maybe just be one. We’ll teach you how!)

Oh. And speaking of your metaphorical jars and sundry goals, improving yourself with an education doesn’t mean you have to commit years to a full-time Diploma, Bachelor’s or Master’s programme.  So you’re busy working eight hours a day, five days a week? Not a problem! SEGi College Subang Jaya also offers short professional courses and certification programmes that can be as short as a single day to two weeks, for winners just like you! We have a wide spectrum of subjects ranging from strategic social-media marketing for go-getting marketers, Adobe Illustrator workshops for budding designers, Microsoft Excel for enthusiastic executives and aspiring management personnel, AutoCAD workshops for corporate-climbing engineers, Montessori Apparatus workshops for dedicated kindergarten teachers, and frankly, subjects in almost anything under the sun!

Call us today, and start making your way to that glorious finish line!