Translator: Robert Deliman Reviewer: Denise RQ
Thank you!
I have been a very happy man,
because I've got the opportunity
to move from my home country, Iran, to the Netherlands, to study for my PhD.
This is the happiest moment of my life until now,
December, 12, 2014:
the end of my PhD defense,
the moment that I was struggling to reach for years, and I have made it,
with lots of publications, a patent,
and a job lined-up next to my PhD.
Life was just perfect that day.
But then, things just started to change.
A few days after my defense,
I started to feel empty.
A few weeks after, I did not have any motivation to leave my house;
and after a few months, I had no energy to leave my bed.
Soon, I've got the expected diagnosis:
depression.
Life was not good any longer.
That was my personal story,
but did you know that based on a survey,
47% of PhD graduates experience a depression sooner or later?
Forty-seven percent.
That means one out of every two graduates.
I was so curious to know what's going on here.
Wasn't achieving such a big goal
supposed to make us happier in the first place?
But instead, it pushed almost half of us into depression.
After some talk with psychologists,
and other friends who had the same problem,
I discovered what went wrong with us.
Our problem was: single identity.
We all devoted all of our time, energy, and focus to only one goal,
which was our PhD dissertation in our case.
So, our identity started to revolve around that goal.
What happened when our PhD dissertation was finished?
So was the whole identity that we held for several years.
We have seen this as a force,
and people had to stop with their life's passion.
The most important lesson that I have learned from my PhD
is you should never, ever, in your life, put all your eggs in one basket.
So whatever your focus is at the moment, start new activities besides that;
activities such as a new language, a new cultural course,
a new sport, or simply make new friends.
And not only do these activities but care about those,
dedicate yourself to them, build a diverse identity for yourself.
That’s what I have started to do since last year.
Because during the last year,
I've become a writer,
I've become a marathon runner,
finally I can speak Spanish now;
I am getting my pilot license,
And starting almost four minutes ago, I can call myself a TEDx speaker.
(Laughter)
By now, even if one part of my identity goes down,
I will stay standing, grabbing the other part.
I feel bulletproof.
So, let me ask you one last question:
if your job, or study, stops tomorrow morning,
is there anything left for you?
Or did you put all your eggs in one basket?
Thank you.
(Applause)