University Assignment: Reflecting on Past, Present Experiences

This essay reflects on past and present experiences, exploring how they shape one's worldview and personal values. It discusses the importance of staying connected to one's true self amidst the pressures of modern society, particularly in competitive work environments. The author reflects on shifting values, the impact of societal expectations, and the need for a more responsible way of living, emphasizing the importance of considering the broader impact of one's actions on personal, economic, and environmental levels. The essay also touches upon the concept of vocation and the need to listen to one's inner voice in a world increasingly focused on external measures of success. Desklib provides students access to similar solved assignments and AI based study tools.

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Reflection on past and present experience
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Introduction
It is the concrete experiences over the course of life that make the foundation for
learning. While there is nothing new or eye-opening about the idea, what makes those
experiences meaningful are how they exercise importance in real-time learning. As a growing
young adult, it is easy to lose sight of our values and principles for short term gains. we fail to
realize that the decisions we take today will influence our life, career, relationships and other
activities. Even more importantly, they will impact the quality of us as a human being. As one
focuses on outward on the world success and sense of accomplishments, they lose focus of the
internal success. The essay makes a reflection on the past and present experiences in relation to
the worldview and why it is essential to remain connected to self.
When I look with honesty at where I stand today, I am not sure if I can say that I am
highly successful, even though I am a very successful individual career wise. I look back to my
childhood and when I ask certain questions to myself, or how I was raised by my parents and
what values were stressed in my family, I can certainly say that I no longer hold those values
with completely. Somewhere down the line, those values have distilled due to the deconstruction
process in my current life. I ask myself as to what kind of values will I be able to impart to my
children or the next generation and what kind of human being will they develop into.
Palmer (2001, p. 214) draws attention to the exploitative economic structures in the
modern and postmodern societies. He asserts why it is essential to look for that balance using
one’s strengths and gifts so as to make the world a better place. There is no denying that the
workplace and environment have become far more competitive. There is no room for honesty
and hard work, as there are several shortcuts that are more dependable to reach the top. The sole

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criteria are me and my success, even if one has to employ aggressiveness and backstabbing. I
have worked in such environments and can recall the pressure on those in management positions
and the stress and tensions on the face of the workers. It seemed as those pressures created at the
top rippled through the organization and just caused work-related stress. That led me to think as
to what is the use of such kind of work and workplace that is making lives miserable for
everyone. The worldviews are changing, and the next generation has its own set of views and
values that contradict strongly with the previous one. That often makes me wonder what the
generation would be like a few more centuries down the line. I feel that the moral capacity is
already degrading and each one of is getting self-limited and self-centered. I agree with Palmer
(2001 p. 5) when it draws attention to the true self and demands a more responsible way of
living. One has to be faithful to true self and understand both the “seed and system” to live in
peace with the self and community. Or, someone would be paying the price for being unfaithful.
Well, we are already paying the price for all that greed, deceit, and capitalism. The planet is
already revolting with signs of global warming.
I feel that despite making significant ecological progress in just a few of the last couple of
years, human beings are not contended and happy. The world is moving ahead at a lightning pace
and all that so call progress is taking us away from our inner self as everything is getting
measures in terms of externalities. People measure each other by the kind of house they live in,
the car they drive and how much money they make. I feel that the society has lost its direction
and losing out on all those essential values of life. It is not that the society was completely free of
corruption and deceit in earlier generations. Only, those destructive practices have become more
widespread and accepted today and weakens the moral fabric of the society. Because of our
selfish behavior, the life on the planet and its species are at mortal and moral risk.

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When you look around, every big business advertises good services for the community.
However, the community is forgotten when providing those services, and that falsifies the work
(Sayers 2013, p. 10). So, the work is created to please the public, and if in the end, it fails to
please the public, a paradox about working develops. While it is perfectly fine to look for profits
in a business or higher income in their job, one should never ignore the life around them. It is
essential to evaluate on what impact we have on anyone and everyone around us on personal,
economic and environmental level because of any of our actions, whether at home or at
workplace. Life is a lot more than just about me and myself, and one must pay attention to
vocation, which is losing its place and meaning in the modern world. It is time to pay attention to
the call of God in Christ, which is not only personal and individual but corporate, as stated by
Stevens (2000, p. 83). While I am not religious myself and neither do I go to the church
regularly, I do believe in a powerful force that runs the life and the universe around. Sometimes I
wonder if the caveman or the prehistoric man was much better for the planet and the life on it.
Perhaps it is time to slow down a bit and pause for a while to look at our actions and listen to our
inner voice and connect to it.

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Bibliography
Palmer, P., 2001. Now I Become Myself. YesMagazine, 1(1), pp.1-6.
Sayers, D., 2013. Why Work? Malyon Workplace, 1(1), pp.1-12.
Stevens P., 2000. Calling in a Post vocational Age. Regent college Publishing, 1(1), pp.71-105.