Study your way to happiness – Why the wrong thing can sometimes be the right thing

Do you hate studying? Are you fearing you made a bad choice with your subject? Or are you maybe even still deciding what to study and super overwhelmed by the amount of choice fearing you might make the wrong decision? Then, today’s your lucky day! Help is in sight. I will share my experiences on that topic and show you how studying, which I absolutely dislike, the wrong subject lead me down the right path and turned out to be the right thing. So, get ready, grab a pen and a paper and let me teach you how you can use studying anything as your way to a happy life.

A little background information

Before we get to the core of this post I quickly want to tell you about my experience with studying. I wasn’t feeling I did the right thing. I hated studying even before I started. About two months before my first day at university I told a friend, I’d probably have to quite because I don’t want to go. I did go because, not showing up is just not my style. But I kept right, I didn’t like it and the first semester was horrible. Every day I wondered why I did this to myself. I was miserable and thought about quitting 20 times a day. I seriously weight my options but I came to the conclusion that doing an apprenticeship or working was something I like doing even less. The only thing I wanted to do at this time was keep traveling.

But as I consider myself a person who likes a safety net this was not an option. I knew that if I’d drop out now I would never start again and my chance to have a certificate was gone. To be honest, I knew I probably didn’t need one anyway as I always knew what I wanted to become. And there were no studies for it. Since I was 15 it was my goal to be an entrepreneur and work for myself. I knew it’s gadda have something to do with costumer work and creating. I wanted to have my own products, my own business, my own baby.

So that made it clear from the beginning that it would have been the best decision to study business, that way I would at least learn something I could use. However, that was no option for me either. I found business super boring to study and if I had to study it had to be at least something I enjoy learning. So, I started studying sports science. And I hated it. LOL. But like mentioned above, there was no other option that I could really make peace on, so I decided to stay even though I didn’t like it. But to keep me sane and happy I started to create as many escapes to balance all this torture I put myself through. I never attended classes. I travelled 5 out of 7 semesters and decided that grades do not matter so who gives a shit on whether I pass with a 4.0 or a 1.0 (4.0 is the worst). Until now (I have one more semester to go) my average grade is a 3.3 which I consider miracle for the fact that I didn’t do anything. Now that I’ve almost finished this let’s say nightmare that turned out to be not that bad after all, I can say, I’m glad I didn’t quit. I’ve learned so much along the way.

Why it doesn’t matter what you study

There are a couple reasons why it does not matter what you study. First, chances are 90% that you will not work in the field you study or not need your studies to work in the field you want to work in. Expectations are doctors, psychologists, teachers and similar working areas. Usually, if you even know what you want to do when you have to choose your study field, those ideas will change anyway throughout the next years. Your twenties are the years where you grow and change the most as a person. So, do your preferences. If you don’t know what you want to do, there’s even less reason to obsess about the subject as, well, you don’t know what you do. So, I suggest here just, study what you find most interesting. Study something you want to learn more about, something where you are so passionate about that it doesn’t matter whether or not 50% of the classes suck. Because chances are high they do.

The second reason why it doesn’t matter what you study is that as a student, lets exclude medical and law students, you have a lot of free time. Assuming that you do not care so much about grades. Of course, if you want to have a 1.0 you gadda obligate yourself fully to studying. But good news is as little as the subjects matter your grades matter unless you want to study a master degree where certain grades are necessary to get in. So, assuming you don’t give a sh*t about your grades and are not a medical or law student you have plenty time to spend on things of interest. If you spend that time on learning the things you are really passionate about, those things that will bring your further towards your goals and dreams then it really doesn’t matter what you study. All that matters, is that you are having a blast at university. So that’s what I did. I decided to not attend classes and instead learn about and build on my business, travel the world and improve my surfing. Whenever it was necessary I went to university, studied so much so I would pass and paid attention to those things that were of interest.

When to quit and not to quit

Of course, if you really dislike your studies or if you have a feeling in your gut that it is the wrong thing and leading you in the wrong direction then by all means, quit. You shouldn’t spend your precious time on things you hate. However, if it’s like it was in my case that it fulfils your goal of having a certificate, is a little of interest and does not cost you to much freedom or money, then why not staying. That brings us to the next question.

Why I kept studying even though I hated it studying opens opportunities. And I am not speaking of job opportunities but of other opportunities. Network, personal growth and travel opportunities. During no other time than through studying you meet so many amazing people from all different working fields. Young and old, experienced and unexperienced. Take that opportunity to build a network of likeminded people that will later contribute to your success. In addition, doing something you dislike is a challenge and will make you grow in ways you can’t even imagine. You learn to get to know yourself, you learn what matters and doesn’t matter, what makes you happy and what doesn’t. You learn to spend your time, money and energy wisely and most importantly, you learn to be creative and come up with ways to still live an awesome life. Because who wants to be miserable in their twenties, right? Lastly, if you are a soulful traveller like me and the only thing you’d want to do right now is traveling, then let me tell you, studying can make traveling so much more affordable. How? Ever heard of exchange semesters? I travelled Portugal and France for free and managed to save even enough money to go to south Africa and morocco all in two years. In addition, what job gives you the freedom to travel one or two months in a row? Very few. Semester breaks make it possible.

How to use studying the wrong thing to your advantage

So, to sum it up here are a few ways in which you can use studying to your advantage, even if you study the “wrong” going or hate studying all together.

1. Take that time to learn about yourself and where you want to go in life. Test out different things. Learn other things in your free time than those you learn at university. Expand your horizon and outweigh your options. See what is out there and see what fits you best. I am sure there is something that you’ll love.

2. Build a safety net. Besides the sponsorships for exchange semesters and a certificate at the end of your studies, there is another thing how studying can give you safety. It gives you time. In average 3-6 years where you will not have to wander what to answer on the question: And what are you doing for a living? Make the most out of that time.

3. Travel for cheap. Please I beg you, take those opportunities. Do an exchange semester or internship abroad. It will be the most regarding experience you’re your life. I promise

4. Get used to doing things you don’t like. If you really want to build a life based on your dreams, then you gadda get comfortable and used to doing things you don’t like from time to time. Chasing your dreams and achieving your goals is hard work, and let me speak of experience, by far not always fun. So, take this as your best practice to getting used to pushing through tough times. I know it’ll be worth it.

Now what are you saying? Still worried to study the wrong thing? Still hating studying all that much? I hope not.

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If that’s the case though, please reach out and send me a message either via mail or on Instagram. I am sure I will find some ways to solve your problem, because do not forget, I was there.

However, if this post pleased you and you know someone who struggles with this too, please share it so they can also benefit from it.

Lastly, come back next week for more and have a lovely day.

Lots of love!