Ninth Edition | February 2011

CAREER
Highlights | Exclusive Interview | The Observer | Motivation Articles | Aspiration | Quickies | Introspective
Published by the Counseling and Students Development Unit, SSSD Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
1 
TheInspirer | February 2011

Content
__________________________________

ADVISOR
Highlights| 2 Haji Abdul Jalil Abdullah
Exclusive Interview:| 3
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Career Talk Mohd. Ashraf bin Nor Azrol
The Observer:| 5
Love What You Do SECTION EDITORS
`Arif Amin bin Ahmad Puzi
Quickies| 7 Nor Nadia bt. Jamal Abd Nasir
Aspiration:| 8 Lim Camille

Worth His Weight In Gold PROMOTION EDITOR

Laugh Out Loud| 10 Devashne Selvanathan
Introspectives| 11
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Nur Izyan Izzati Abd Halim
Ahmad Fikry Mohd Anwar

Dear readers,

Every semester, there will be a group of students scrambling their heads off – writing and creating resumes,
following-up on companies of interest, making passports and visas – preparing a good career prospect. All these
efforts are worthwhile because obtaining a desired career path ensures satisfaction.

Indeed this is true, thus we must prepare ourselves to face the real world. Academic excellence can secure us jobs,
but to survive in the industry, communication and management skills are paramount. Therefore, involvement in
various events and clubs is a good start to build up those skills. In fact, we have so many activities to the point
that it has become a culture in UTP. Last year alone, we had about 300 events. This year the number might grow
ensuring vast opportunities for everyone.

Nevertheless, in our race to equip ourselves for our careers, once successful, do not forget those who have helped
us in life. Go back home and say thank you to your families for their support and encouragement. Send regards
and compliments to your lecturers and staffs that assisted you in getting the job that you enjoy. Express
congratulations and gratitude to your friends for being the best of friends.

After all, a good salary may be able to buy a lot of things, but it cannot buy unending love from the people around
you.
Wassalam

Ashraf
Mohd. Ashraf b. Nor Azrol

By : Mohd Ashraf bin Nor Azrol
(PE, 3rd Year 1st Semester)
S tephen Covey said in his best-seller book, The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People, the first rule of personal achieve-
ment is being proactive. Indeed, in seeking the right career
path, a proactive attitude is a must because there are thou-
sands of hungry graduates, like you, seeking for jobs in the
market. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia,
there are 360,900 unemployed individuals roaming the streets
with the classifieds in their hands.
Competition for jobs does not come from the unemployed
alone, but also from the 11 million other people that already
have jobs! They change jobs for various reasons and they have
an upper hand: job experience. Fresh graduates like us must
equip ourselves to face this reality.
The trick now is to beat the competition by having extra
qualities that catch the eye of your future employers. Firstly,
understand that academic competence is most important.
Although we talk much about soft skills nowadays, one’s
academic performance still remains the main indicator of
excellence. Understand this fact and start striving to improve
your grades.
Only after fulfilling that first requirement can we then look into
other opportunities to add value to our abilities. Imagine these
extra qualities as extra toppings on an ice cream which makes
it look and taste more delicious compared to the thousands of
other ice creams on sale. The key to mastering these extra
virtues is to start early. Have a clear vision of what you want to
be and start mastering the relevant skills along the way.
The most obvious opportunity is during extended academic
sessions; extended here means “non-lecture activities”
designed in your academic course to increase learning and
understanding such as laboratory sessions, field trips, projects
and industrial internships. Do not take these things lightly; all of
them will add to your technical competency.
Why is technical competency important?
The first few years of your career after graduation will most
likely be related to your degree. Thus, it is utterly important for
you to do things right because you are expected to do so after
years of studying. The industry is, after all, all about application
of the fundamental knowledge that you have learnt and hence,
competency in technical matters is exceedingly important. Only
when you are able to apply your knowledge, do you become a
highly prized skilled employee.
So make sure you master all the concepts, tools and handling
of equipments in the laboratories, record your knowledge from
field trips, be vigilant in completing your projects and learn as
much as possible during internship.
The second priority for employee-recruiting companies is
leadership which comprises time management, discipline,
2
Highlightss
TheInspirer | February 2011
communication skill and managerial capabilities. A leader must
have good time management and discipline to show a good
example and credibility in handling subordinates. He must also
be able to manage and delegate tasks through strong
communication with his people. The best way to learn all of
these qualities at once is by joining extracurricular activities in
clubs, societies and events.
How can extracurricular activities help?
You are a leader regardless of what position you are placed in.
You are a leader now and soon enough you will climb to bigger
responsibilities. You have objectives to achieve and plans to
execute. Thus, you need discipline to manage your time, you
need to communicate with various people to get your job done
and you have to learn to manage things so that your work
moves smoothly. So when you take up responsibility in these
activities, you are building the leader in you. This is the
learning process.
In the real working environment, your ability to be a leader is
what makes you survive and get promoted. We are fortunate
because we have events and clubs that offer plenty of
leadership opportunities for you to experience. Grab this
chance and diversify in your choice in responsibility for one will
never know what nature of job one will encounter in his
working life. Give extra emphasis on communicating in English
because a good command of this language is always an added
advantage.
Lastly, oddly enough, people are being hired because of their
auxiliary skills such as computer knowhow, writing talent,
photography handiness, sports inclination and even singing
ability! Although some might argue that this is the smallest
contributing factor, but as long as you can score extra points
above the rest, why not. Most of the time, a company has its
own work culture, for example having a family day. Workers
spend time together at bowling and karaoke. If you are good
at both, wouldn’t it be an attractive point for the employers to
hire you?
Recall what the trick is again. We must beat the competition
and only a few added advantages can be the difference
between the winner and the loser. The auxiliary skills are
related to your interest or even if you don’t like it, just give it a
try. At least you can include them in your resume, that you
have done this and that. Who cares for the reason you got
hired, as long as you secure the job, you win!
Start from today and identify what equipping skills you want to
acquire for the vision of your career. We have identified three
skills; technical, leadership and auxiliary skills that will prepare
you to get a job and survive. Learn them now or risk losing out
to others later. Nonetheless, you can always create your own
job and leave the career seeking competition altogether. Being
an innovator or an entrepreneur might be your goldmine.
However, acquiring these three skills at the university will help
you in those careers too!TI
 3  Exclusive Interview
TheInspirer | February 2011

Career Talk
By: `ARIF AMIN BIN AHMAD PUZI (PG, 3rd Having worked in the industry for such a long time,
Year 1st Semester) what made you decide to become a lecturer?

Well, after spending so many years looking at various things

in the engineering industry, I felt that it’s about time for me
to share my knowledge with the students. The knowledge is
invaluable and instead of letting it give me a headache by
keeping it all to myself, I was offered the chance to dump all
of my knowledge on students. I honestly believe that to be a
good academician you must have industry experience so that
you can share thoroughly with the students knowledge not
just from a textbook standpoint but also from actual work
point of view.

For those still studying, in your opinion which would

be a better career path: being a lecturer or working in
the industry?

It depends. If you have the aspiration to be an educator, I

term lecturers as educators, then you need to seriously think
about going for advanced degrees i.e. master’s degree and
ph.D. Having a master’s degree alone is inadequate. You
would need at least a ph.D to go into the education line.
Having said that, it will be good to have at least 5 or 6 years
of industry experience before you go back to the academics.
It is less destructive that way as compared to for instance
switching from academics to work and back again.
C
What kind of civil engineers do UTP want to produce?

For our department, we should be producing civil engineers

who have holistic civil engineering background meaning they
should have adequate technical knowledge in all the areas of
civil engineering. Later on in work, especially in the consult-
ing industry, you can’t really say you don’t know the subject.
You should have enough knowledge to comprehend the
subject and be able to do well in your endeavors. If you take
a look at our programme outcome objectives, you would
notice that our aim is to produce technically qualified civil
engineers with the potential to become leaders of the civil
engineering industry.

What would be your response then towards soft

skills?
20 years of work experience in the industry has
without a doubt proven priceless in preparing
Ir. Dr. Mohd Shahir Liew for life as an academician.
Soft skills are important, definitely. I found 70% of students
lacking in soft skills; they are a bit rough on the edges but I
Equipped with an ever-increasing vault of knowledge
think some of these things come with age. We can’t change
and having mastered the ins and outs of managerial
them overnight nor can we expect the students to do so.
work, it came as no surprise when it was announced
Theoretical textbooks do not change people. They will have
that he was to be the new Head of the Civil
their ideas, but if you don’t show or guide them, they
Engineering Department, having joined UTP as
wouldn’t have the notion on how to proceed.
recent as 2009. The Inspirer sought his opinions on
the theme of this edition: career.

“Later on in work, you can't really say you don't

know the subject”
 4 

TheInspirer | February 2011

Do you agree with the idea that undergraduates/
graduates nowadays are too picky in their jobs or
internships? Should they be picky?
Once again, it depends because there are two parts to this.
The first part is that if they are picky because of money,
then I think they are not being realistic of their career path.
However, if they are picky because of what they want to do
then I think that’s fair because they need to be able to
indulge or be involved in something that they like. They can’t
just jump into something that they don’t like even if it pays a
lot of money. In UTP, I found the students are a bit pickier;
they always have a preference for the oil and gas industry
because the starting salary is high. One thing that they need
to understand however is that just because you’re in the oil
and gas industry doesn’t mean you’ll be rich. I come from
the consulting background; I think I’m quite rich also. So in
my opinion, some of the students are too picky; which is
unnecessary actually.
So for those going to internship, you would advise
them to try other companies beside those related to
the oil and gas industry?
Yes, that’s right. They should go beyond the oil and gas
industry to real, heavy duty consultancy work so that they
have exposure to that because in the oil and gas industry,
you are actually specializing in a particular area so you don’t
get the holistic knowledge technically.
What are some aspects of the professional careers
that students have to prepare for?
Basically, the main thing is teamwork along with leadership
qualities, soft skills, the ability to get along with people and
to accept criticism without taking it personally. Besides
that, it is imperative that they develop a continual
education system among themselves meaning that they will
have to continue to seek knowledge; even at my age I’m
still seeking knowledge! For your information, being a
professional engineer requires you to complete 50 credit
hours every year before they renew your license. Thus,
your “Ir.” title is subjected to you completing your CPE
(Continuing Professional Education).
Finally, do you have any words of advice to our
readers?
The first thing that I want to advice the readers is that as a
student, it will be good to learn as much as you can
without being selective about specializing in any particular
courses. Through my experience, I know that some
students dislike certain courses which they deem
unimportant but it is this sort of negative attitude that
needs to be discouraged. Secondly, I encourage students
to start considering becoming academicians. Statistically,
10% of the graduating undergraduates will go to the
master’s degree and another 10% of the master’s students
will go on to ph.D. By that time, there will be very few
people going into the academic line and we face the
problem of running short of good academicians. So it is a
great opportunity for those interested.TI

“Just because you're in the O&G industry,

doesn't mean you'll be rich”

Articles From:http://www.careerage.com/career/articles/art6/
Written & Contributed by: Deborah Brown-Volkman, PCC (Career, Life, Wellness, and Mentor Coach )
Convince Yourself That You Want A New Goal
No goal is achieved without commitment. Have you ever observed someone pursuing a goal and said to yourself, "That person is a true
believer." True believers are easy to spot because they are defined by their commitment. Don't allow yourself to be comfortable with
circumstances that do not further your goal. Want to know that you will succeed before you step out of your comfort zone? Guess what? You
don't get this guarantee up front. The miracles in your career happen when you say "yes" and jump in.

Start Small
Are you in one of these two places:
1.You have no idea what should be the next step in your career,
2.You do know, but haven't done anything about it yet.
Either way it doesn't matter. Now is your time to move forward.

Start small. Small steps increase your confidence and lead to completing other small steps. Small steps taken on a regular basis are more
effective than larger steps taken inconsistently. Slow and steady wins the race.

Create Your Game Plan

Having a plan is vital to your success. With a plan, success is yours. Without a plan, you will be working far harder than you have to. A plan
adds organization to your goal because it details specific actions and steps to get there. Another reason to create a plan is that it will prevent
your goal from becoming overwhelming. The temptation to feel overwhelmed is normal. Here's how to create one: Take your career goal and
break it into smaller pieces. Get out your calendar and write down the specific small pieces you will do and when you will do them. Use your
plan to encourage and guide you. After all, your plan's underlying goal is for you to have an exceptional year.

Look At Your Goal Every Day

Most people want a "do-over" or a second chance. You get this opportunity on January 1st. If you create your goal, and then put it away,
your words will have no value. What you can't see will soon be forgotten as the year progresses. When you look at your goal regularly, it
gradually becomes a part of who you are.
 5 
TheInspirer | February 2011 The Observer

A
career. The goal that should be so clearly pictured in a graduate’s mind during his studies yet
remains so vague and fuzzy due to the accompanying factors of the state of the global economy,
advancements in technology, unscrupulous competition and an ever increasing reliance on automated
machines. Considering all of the above, a degree is no longer a guarantee of obtaining your dream job, if
any at all. But lets say, that fortunately you do have a job. Unfortunately though, it is not what you
expected and you never imagined yourself doing it. What would you do?

LOVE
WHAT
YOU DO
By: `ARIF AMIN BIN AHMAD PUZI (PG, 3rd
Year 1st Semester)
I am sure that this scenario has played itself before in
many of our minds. A random survey of new students
entering UTP would tell you that lo and behold, not all
of them want to be engineers and technologists! In
between the confines of UTP’s pak guard-watched
gates are frustrated doctors, architects, sportsmen and
businessmen, to name a few, who have had to
abandon their dreams once they willingly enrolled in
UTP. The writer himself had never known the word
“geoscientist” existed 3 years ago but now he is about
to go to his industrial internship to complete his
Bachelor of Technology (Hons.) Petroleum Geoscience.
It’s fair to say that sometimes, things don’t go as
planned.
Be it as it may, simply saying, writing and
imagining about these things are easier than actually
doing it. One way to keep motivated is to always
perceive events in life as an opportunity to learn.
Regardless of what you’re doing, who it involves, the
time of occurrence, and the place it happened, if you
really look deep enough, you will find lessons to be
learnt from everything in life. Everything has its purpose
and everything here encompasses not only physical
objects but also intangible experiences. Unlike publicity,
there are never any bad experiences as every
experience is your share towards improving yourself. A
person who has never made any mistake would never
have learnt while a person who has achieved success
has done so only by bouncing up after a fall.

The Rolling Stones coined it perfectly in one of

their songs: You can’t always get what you want, you
get what you need. Necessity is fine enough, but
satisfaction and happiness is hard to get when you’re
not doing what you love. Frustration tends to set in
and even though you would be making a healthy living,
your lives won’t be healthy. So how do we overcome
this? All you have to do is switch the words around and
you’ll realize that to be happy, you have to love what
you do.
Loving what you do doesn’t mean you have to
substitute your passion for something else. One of the
dangerous mistakes a person can do is to give up on
his dreams and stuff away everything related to it in
the closet. Doing so would only serve to make you
depress and uninspired. Once you take the flame out
of the passion, how can anyone shine? Instead, you
should always keep your aspirations close to your heart
and let it motivate you to greater heights. Even though
you are not chasing that dream yet, use it as a “You can't always get
long-term goal. Think of your work as a stepping stone
towards achieving that goal monetarily wise, what you want, you get
experience wise and maturity wise. When you feel
ready and all the pieces are in place, you can always what you need “
use your degree to further your studies in the field of
your dreams.

At times when the work seems never ending and
pointless, it would be wise to focus your attention on the
things you like about your job. It could be one or it could
be many; identifying them is the key. Even though this isn’t
your preferred choice of careers, why did you choose this
particular career path instead of the other many more
available options? There must be something special about
this job that made you sign up for it. What are you good at
in this field? Which part of the job do you contribute most
in? These are the kinds of questions you can ask yourself in
order to realize your talents. Once you have done so,
concentrate on these qualities first whenever you feel lost
in your work. These qualities will make the work easier for
you and once you have found a rhythm, work will flow
smoother.
“There is no such thing as a
bad experience”
6
TheInspirer | February 2011
A fun thing to do is to have a personal project relating
to your dream career. Do it on your own time as a way
to always keep in touch with your passion. If possible,
relate this project to your career so that not only are
you enjoying yourself, you’re enjoying your work too!
As an example, if you’re a cheese-loving app. designer,
then in your spare time you can always create an app
for cheese; Where to get the best cheese in town,
ingredients for that perfect mozzarella, mom’s recipe for
Swiss cheese, etc. It doesn’t have to be complicated nor
does it have to be marketable, it just has to be cheesy!
No pun intended.
In life, it always seems that the grass is always
greener on the other side of the fence. However, one
thing that is always forgotten in that proverb is that no
one is holding you back from taking a paintbrush and
painting your grass green. Whatever happens in our life
is in the control of a supreme being but how we react
to the challenges in our path, is what will determine our
destination. Never give up on your dream.TI
 7 
TheInspirer | February 2011 Quickies

NZ!
BNCJUJPO
Written and edited by Nor Nadia bt Jamal
Abd Nasir (BIS, 2nd Year 2nd Semester)

Suppose I found a clue, I would start

working on it. I would try and understand the picture
writings on the walls of the pyramid. Sometimes
mummies give us a lot of information about the lives
and times of ancient Egypt. I would keep in mind all
the clues and focus on one thing at a time and go
through all the clues in stages.

I would never get overloaded or paranoid

with work. I would take things easy and when I
would see that my brains were not functioning, I
would stop work at once. If I would work like this,
with no worries in my mind, I would solve
e v e r y t h i n g i n n o t i m e .

I am really serious about becoming an

Egyptologist and during the history period in school,
I am transported to the world of the pharaohs and
hope to achieve my ambition someday.TI

R ishika Das Roy, who is from Kolkata, seems to

be very determined about what she wants to
become when she grows up. Sometimes I wonder
what I would like to be when I grow up. I think of a
different ambition every year. Since I turned eight,
I would wonder what I really wanted to be. Would I
be a teacher, a singer, a journalist or no, an
astronaut.

This year I am thinking of becoming an

'Egyptologist'. Everybody, including my parents, thinks I
am mad. They say that anything is better than getting
buried under the hot sandy deserts of Egypt. I want to
become an Egyptologist not to become famous and rich,
but mainly because of the adventures I would have and
the excitement I would face.

Suppose I unravelled the famous curse of the

great king Tuten Khamin, which archaeologists have
racked their brains for millions of years to solve? What if I
really found a way to enter the pyramid? That would be
great! It would be like a dream come true. I would see
every pyramid in Egypt and tour the country of my
dreams. All the same I would work really hard. I would
ask the other historians working with me about the other
pyramids which haven't as yet been discovered. I would
get on to the job straight away. I would go to all the
chambers in the pyramid, knock on all the panels and
walls for an entry to the treasure chamber. Sources from http://www.pitara.com and
http://www.cartoonstock.com
 Aspiration 8 

TheInspirer | February 2011

V ignesh Kumar a/l Munusamy, or more
affectionately known as Vicky, was the latest
recipient of the prestigious Chancellor Gold Medal
Award during UTP’s 10th convocation ceremony,
Convofair 2010. Graduating with a Bachelor of
Engineering (Honours) Chemical, majoring in Process
Engineering and a CGPA of 3.98, it is no surprise that
Vicky was quickly snapped up by the industry and is
currently working with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd.,
Peninsular Malaysia Operations. It did his cause no
harm also that he was once the captain of UTP’s
English Debate Team and he had won the UTP
Invitational Debate Competition in 2007 as well as
being chosen as the best speaker for his
performances. 6 months on after graduating, who else
would be more accomplished to enlighten and inspire
UTP-ians regarding their future careers other than this
truly well-rounded student?

Did you always wanted to be a chemical engineer

growing up?

Not really. As a kid, I never knew what I wanted to do when

I grew up. But, like all kids, I wanted to be a doctor,
policeman or be in the army. Those were standard
ambitions kids used to have. Being an engineer was never a
choice, probably because lack of exposure to the
engineering field. But, I do not regret choosing the chemical

Worth his
engineering programme in UTP. As I was doing my degree,
I came to love what I am expected to do as an engineer.

Now that you are working, what is the official title of

your post and what does it entail?

weight in gold
Seeding Operation Supervisor for Pulai-A platfom. Seeding is
not dissimilar to training. After two years, I will become a
Field Engineer or an Operation Supervisor, depending on job
availability, and also my capabilities. My job requires me to
take care of the day-to-day operations of the Pulai-A
platform, including production and maintenance of the
By: `ARIF AMIN BIN AHMAD PUZI (PG, 3rd
platform. I work with a team of other engineers of various
Year 1st Semester)
backgrounds including pipeline, mechanical, construction,
instrumentation and electrical engineering, each of whom
are assigned to this platform. As UTP students, can you tell the readers the truth:
How much of what we learn do we actually apply in our
As a result of the economic recession, the professional careers?
competition for employment in the engineering field
or otherwise is ever heating up. In your eyes, which As disappointing as it may be, do not be surprised if we end up
specialization of chemical engineering or other types in a position that does not require us to use the knowledge
of engineering is currently in demand? that we have learnt. Even in my position, I only use some of
the knowledge that I have gained, especially on
To be frank, I really have no clue on that particular subject; instrumentation, valves, production and separation. The bulk
you would be better advised to pose that question to the of what we learn is not being very helpful in our careers. I
human resources department. But what I can say is that the have even come across friends who studied engineering but
only way to guarantee yourself of a working position later ended up doing managerial works. However, I believe most
on when you have graduated is to be the best among your well-known companies have trainings for their new employees
peers. I know it sounds cliché but saying it is one thing and so as to equip them with the essential technical knowledge
actually striving to be the best that you can is another. required prior to performing work functions.
Getting to the top is the easy part, staying there is where
the true challenges arise. This also applies to your
professional careers. Once you have received a job offer,
you cannot decide to just relax and take it easy but you
“I came to love what I
must constantly motivate yourself to be better. am expected to do as an
engineer”
9 
TheInspirer | February 2011 Aspiration
Which qualities do employers seek in fresh graduates? Finally, can you give a word or two of advice to those
wishing to be the next "Chancellor Award" recipient?
In my opinion, within the first few years in the organization,
the most important ones would be the ability to work not only Learn to prioritize your work so as not to disappoint others
individually but also in a team. You will get assignments which and also yourself. Personally, I divided my time
require you to work in a group as well as individually and you by prioritizing my work which affected others first. For
have to pull it off within certain deadlines. I would rank example, if I have debate training and also a test to study
communication skills, which includes presentation skills, as the for, I would go for my debate training because it affects my
next most important quality needed in the work place teammates. It may not be the best thing to do but, that’s
especially the way you communicate to others in your team. what I did and apparently it worked for me. Study-wise,
Then, it would have to be the ability to handle stress as well revisions before tests and final exams are crucial; I mostly
as management skills. Considering the abundance of work, made my revisions only for test and final exams, as to be
the two go hand-in-hand as the latter will complement the frank, all UTP students do. However, a point to highlight
former. here is that, I always made sure I understood my subject
matters well, and did not shy away from meeting lecturers
"I always made sure I to clarify a lack of understanding with regards to the subject
matter. Having discussions with friends also helped a lot.TI
understood my subject
matters well"

Typical vita categories or headings may include some or all of the fol-
lowing:

 Personal/Contact Information
(name, address, phone number (s), email)
 Academic Background
(postgraduate work, graduate work/degree (s), major/minors, thesis/
dissertation titles, honors, undergraduate degree (s), majors/minors,
honors)
Excerpt from: http://www.quintcareers.com/curriculum_vitae.html

 Professional Licenses/Certifications
 Academic/Teaching Experience
(courses taught, courses introduced; Innovation in teaching; teaching
evaluations)
 Technical and Specialized Skills
 Related/Other Experience
(other work experience)
 Professional/Academic Honors and Awards
 Professional Development
(conferences/workshops attended, other activities)
 Research/Scholarly Activities
(journal articles, conference proceedings, books, chapters in books,
magazine articles, papers presented/workshops, ezine articles, work
currently under submission, work in progress)
 Grants
 Service
(Academic, professional, community)
 Academic/Research Interests
 Affiliations/Memberships
 Foreign Language Abilities/Skills
 Consulting
 Volunteer Work
 References
 Laugh Out Loud 10

TheInspirer | February 2011

Visit FruityCuties.com for more.

11 
TheInspirer | February 2011 Introspective

By: LIM CAMILLE (ME, 1st Year 2nd Semester)

S ome people like fame while others prefer
fortune. Certain people shun monetary gains
to pursue their passion, yet there are those who
choose to just make a living. Either way, that is just
how people express their own definition of
happiness. However, has it ever occurred to you
which kind of life you would want for yourself?
Would it be the kind of life that always pushes you
to rush from Brazil to San Diego and from San
Diego to Capri, or is it the kind of life that would
allow you to sit down, relax and watch some TV
with your loved ones?
The one thing that is pretty much related to this is
the career that people choose. Regardless of
whether to be an engineer, an artist, a lecturer, a
doctor, a corporate person, or a politician, whatever
it is, make sure that it is the right choice and hold
on to the choice you make. But, how? I’ll tell you
how; Let’s take a tour through the seven little steps
to keep you motivated in whichever career you have
chosen and bear in mind, motivation has always
been the best potion for performance and
productivity in a workplace.
Step one, clarify your goals. To be completely honest,
nothing is more depressing than working arbitrarily
without having a clear vision, mission and set of
objectives for your work. Without a clear picture of the
goals and mission you want to achieve at work, what’s the
point of you working? Besides, you might find yourself
ending up spending a lot of time on urgent but
unimportant matters rather than tasks that positively
impact the bigger picture. It is completely astonishing
what you will achieve once you have honed in on your
precise goals, eventually realizing them.
Step two, establish a clear plan to realize your
goals. Once you have clarified your vision and goals,
devise a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your
progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Having a
blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible
milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly
simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will
also give you a feeling of control over your work and
Step three, ride the wave of your successes. Success is
very stimulating. Work hard enough and you will achieve
successful results. See then how motivated you are to achieve
further successes as you excel in your performance. In this
case, see yourself as being an overachiever, strike your goals
and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further
successes. Do keep in mind that the secret of success is hard
work, creativity and perseverance.
Step four, reward yourself. Reward yourself as you achieve
your objectives or reach a significant milestone. This will give
you something to look forward to, or shall I say an extra drive
to get to next level and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm
when you do attain your desired goals.
Step five, keep things in perspective. It is important to
keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why
you work. Besides the pay, it is often about realizing your
potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a
difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your
skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the
community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in
and when times are tough, remind yourself of why you do the
work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that
you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and
make a difference in.
Step six, maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is very easy to
lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the
work arena. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial for both
your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Do the
things you like for instance exercising, reading, taking courses,
shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your
creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to
after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work
when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they
could be and will also make you more productive at work.
And finally, step seven, think positively. Negativity is a very
contagious affliction. It might rip you off of your dreams. What
you can do to stay away from negative thinking is to practice
the laughter yoga, mingle around with groups of positive
people, exercise, travel or whatever that makes you feel happy.
Bear in mind people, choose whatever that you feel pleasure in
doing, don’t end up in misery and regret for the rest of your
life. And the most important thing is to support your dreams
and never turn away from what you think is best for yourself. TI

Counseling Services:
1. Face-to-face (See us at Pocket D)
2. Hotline— Hj. Abdul Jalil Abdullah :05-3688438/019-9591978 / Mrs. Maznah Ramli : 05-3688430
3. Online (utpcounselor@gmail.com)
4. The Inspirer Blogspot : theinspirerutp.blogspot.com