Happy Tuesday!

Someone from Reddit recently reached out to ask about my gap year experience.

Among the worries they mentioned, one sentence stood out.

It was exactly how I felt when I was deciding to take my gap year:

“I’m very scared to take a gap year because I feel left behind

(I know we all have our own paths blablabla BUT STILL)”

After taking the “longer route” twice in the past 7 years, I no longer feel “left behind” because of 3 reasons:

• Growth correlates poorly with time (and effort)
• Earlier achievements != More enjoyment time
• Experiences last longer than material possessions

Growth correlates poorly with time (and effort)

At the age of 10, my grades for Mandarin started dropping.

I was worried, so I asked my parents to enroll me in private tuition.

It worked at first, but my grades quickly stagnated.

By the age of 15, I was doing poorer than my 10-year-old self. I was putting a lot of effort and time toward the subject, but seeing little improvements.

Feeling bad for wasting my parents’ money, I decided to:

• Quit private tuition
• Find my areas of weakness
• Practice my areas of weakness more—on my own

Within a year, I managed to do well enough at the national examinations with this strategy. From then on, I realized:

Growth correlates the strongest with applied leverage.

If I had to write a formula for growth, it would be:

Growth = (Time)$^{0.5}$ * Intensity of Effort * (Leverage)$^2$

• If your effort is focused (and thus, intense), you usually achieve the same amount of things in less time.
• If you work on higher-leverage stuff, you can achieve the same amount of things with less amounts of time and effort.

So, in 2017, I decided to go to a vocational high school.

It would require an extra year compared to the “A” Levels route, but allow me to pursue my area of interest—tech.

I used my passion as fuel to work on “higher-leverage stuff” like:

• Striving for excellence in my school projects & assignments
• Participating in national and international skills competitions

As a result, when I graduated high school, I had more technical skills, experience, and self-awareness than my peers who took the “A” Levels.

Earlier achievements != More enjoyment time

If you achieve a milestone earlier, will you be able to enjoy it for a longer time?

Ideally, yes.

But we never really know.

Things in life are impermanent. We are all on God's clock.

I could die tomorrow in some freak accident. I’ll no longer be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

What we can do is make the best of what we have in the present.

So, if striving for a destination requires you to live your days unhappily and soullessly…

Please—reconsider.

Experiences last longer than material possessions

A friend pointed out that delaying my university graduation would also delay my first job as a degree holder.

A degree holder earns at least $3,000/month in Singapore (broadly assuming). So:

Delaying my university graduation for 2 years =
Missing out on at least $3,000 * 24 months = $72,000 worth of salary

(compared to my peers who didn’t “lag behind”)

If I invested $20,000 (around 20%+) of my salary =
in X years it will snowball into 6 figures…

…that would give me a headstart on a car, an apartment…

You get the idea.

But these calculations miss a fundamental part of the equation:

How I feel during the experience of earning money through a traditional job.

• Some people like the experience.
• Some people like the material rewards enough to tolerate it.

The latter group usually goes through their days soullessly—on autopilot.

• Their vacations feel rushed and short.
• They dread Mondays and going back to work.
• Their work isn’t very meaningful—it only exists to help them obtain the next material reward.

If you fall into the first category of people, great.

But if you’re in the second category:

• Don’t rush. Always check for alignment before taking action.
• Don’t strive for material possessions only. You’ll only feel more empty.

So, if someone’s been discouraging you from your desired path because you’ll “lag behind”…

or that you’re “too young” / “too old” / “too late” to do it…

Do your research. Know what you’re getting into.

If it still resonates, do it anyway.

As always, I’m rooting for you. I’ll see you next week!