"The Alternative Mindset"

                Education is an important thing for us individuals. According to some sayings which is very common, “Even though you don’t have anything, you have the knowledge and no one could steal it from you”. The quote above is one of the reasons why people must go to school every day but aside from this, each of us have hundreds of reasons why we striving so hard in school. One of these reasons is to land a high-paying job. Even if you ask random people out there, I’m sure it will be the common answers that you will find out from them. It’s because of the way how people think. Some people will say that nothing is wrong with this mentality but if we will talk about the Default Mindset, this will prove that there are part of this thought which must be changed.

                “Go to school, get good grades, and land in a high-paying job.” This is the common outlook of people why they will send their child in school or why these people pursue their studies.  Parents embed this kind of mentality into their children so as the result, children adopt this mindset and pass into the next generation. As these children steps into school and will make the utmost to get good grades, they have the mentality that someday they will have high-paying jobs as they finish their years in studying. But the question is, Is it good to have this outlook with the mind of the student? What will be the effect of this kind of mindset? Before answering these questions, let me refresh what I learned from the second meeting in Technopreneurship and introduce this kind of mindset. According to our facilitator, this type of thinking is called the “Default Mindset”. It was termed as the Default Mindset because it was a very common mindset that was originated long, long time ago. This mindset was just all about landing a high-paying job as a student will get his diploma thinking that it’s a right thing to be an outlook in life. Because of this kind of mindset, students won’t see the real goal why they work hard during the time of being a student and will be blinded by this to see the better possibilities than what he thinks. Since they just want to get high-paying jobs, they might not aim to be an employer but will just be satisfied as an employee. They might lose the opportunity to be a boss in their own company someday. Losing the opportunity is the main result of having this kind of mentality. Let’s just take the example of the current situation of Davao industry. Davao produces great graduates when it comes in the field of IT. It can be prove through the contest where Davao universities participated. If you cannot find their names in the lower part, they might get the first, second or even the third place. That’s how Davao’s students are great. But, if we will talk about the industry, Davao is not like with the other cities like Cebu and Manila. They might not have the best students but they have the best employees, and which did they came from? Proudly to say, Davao. Davao become the supplier of best employees for the other cities and as the result, Davao didn’t have any improvement when we talk about industry. Why does it happen? Since there are many companies in the other cities, these great graduates will leave their city to obtain the alluring offers. In this case, it’s very alarming that it doesn’t only affect and individual but also affect the city. If only these great graduates have a different kind of thinking then, this could not possibly happen

                  If there’s a Default Mindset, there is also a different kind of mindset which is better. This kind of mindset is a substitution to change the effects of the old mindset. “Go to school, get good grades, create and own a company.” If you will read the words between these lines, it’s ideally different from the first one. This outlook is like, you’re telling to yourself that “I want to be an employer someday, not to be an employee”. Having your own company and to be called as a boss is better than to be an employee right? It’s like hitting two birds in one stone. You will earn a lot of money as well as to have a superior position in your own company. This kind of thinking is the “Alternative Mindset”. Parents send their child in school not just to let their child to land high-paying jobs but to have their own chair, own table with the label of their name, their own building, their own company. Students will work to get grades not just to be a web developer, a system analyst but be the boss in the company they had create. This will have a positive effect not only for one’s self but also for other people as well as to the city. If these great students will be successful to put up their own company, this will cause more opportunities to other people and will don’t have to migrate to other places just to have the desired earnings. What’s great with this, is that the city will be improved in terms in the condition of the industry as the rate of employment will increase. If this will happen to Davao as an example earlier, Davao could possibly align with other successful cities like Cebu and Manila and could even overtake to think that Davao has the best graduates with great abilities.

                For me, after what I have learned from the second meeting, I realize that efforts you have exerted in your student years are useless if you have the wrong outlook in life. Thinking how life will be so challenging after you graduate will just make you go into a wrong path. Somehow, this kind of thinking makes you possess to have the Default Mindset. Setting the right goals will be out of place and will be replaced of worries of ‘what if’s’ concerning with the future. Even if once I was being one of those people who have default mindset, I’m glad that I made a reflection to myself regarding on how I think and how I set my goals. I was given a chance to take away my worries and think positively outside the walls I had made. Now, I look forward in my future not only as to be an IT programmer but a person who is entitled to be called as the boss someday in my own company.