The personal CV you forgot to update
I just watched a video by Suara Berkelas, an Indonesian YouTube channel, about why so many of us in our 20s and 30s feel stuck, right when our energy is at its peak.
It turns out the biggest enemy isn’t a lack of skill. It’s ego, and the “software” in our heads that we forgot to update.
Energy without wisdom
There’s a paradox between your 20s and your 50s.
In your 20s, you’re full of energy but short on wisdom. You’re brave, sure, but more often than not you’re reckless and you lose your way.
In your 50s, you’ve got plenty of wisdom but not much energy left. You know where you’re going, but the tank is empty, so it all ends up as overthinking.
The fix for those of us who are still young: actively look for wisdom. Don’t go it alone. Talk more with people who’ve already traveled the route and know which roads are dead ends.
The CV in your head
All this time we’ve been busy building our “Professional CV”: listing our skills, education and work experience to send to HR.
But we often forget that we also have a “Personal CV” in our heads. It holds our mentality, how confident we are, and the “old tapes” about how we see ourselves that formed when we were kids.
That past can lock up your potential:
- Told you were “talking back” for being critical as a kid → at work you choose to stay quiet in every meeting.
- Only loved when you ranked at the top of your class → you grow up into an overachiever who’s terrified of failing.
It turns out being “shy” or “an overthinker” isn’t something you’re born with. It’s the result of a broken “Personal CV”. That’s what keeps our skills from coming out.
And here’s the irony. We update our Professional CV all the time: taking courses, learning AI, getting certifications.
But the Personal CV rarely gets reviewed. However good your technical skills are, if you still lose your nerve easily, you won’t dare to take the opportunity.
It’s not just skills that need upgrading. Our mindset and what’s in our heads also need to be cleared of old habits.
Carrying your ego around
The more we carry our ego around (“I graduated from this state university,” “I’ve got X years of experience”), the more fragile we get.
Ego makes us take things personally, get jealous easily, or end up feeling small when we see what other people have achieved.
Lowering your ego doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself. It means knowing that you’re still learning, and always will be.
Pride also makes us wait for the “perfect” moment to start. But all we actually need is the courage to start small.
So I’m trying to be okay with looking like a beginner: making a small project, making content even if the camera is nothing special. Waiting for perfect only wastes time.
Patching the leaky boat
Our life is like a boat in the middle of the ocean. The water coming in is what people say about us, our fear and our insecurity.
If you keep letting it in, the boat sinks.
Our job: realize those holes aren’t fate. They’re habits of mind that can be patched.
It also helps to let go of the obsession with results. In the end, nobody expects us to control the outcome. All that’s asked of us is our best effort.
Start applying for jobs even if your CV isn’t perfect. Act on an idea even if it isn’t 100% ready.
If we focus on the process, then even when the result misses, we won’t regret it. Because we know for sure: “I did my best.”
So, the takeaway: the people who keep moving forward aren’t people without fear or insecurity.
They’re just willing to lower their ego and keep patching the “Personal CV” in their heads.
Watch the full video on the Suara Berkelas YouTube channel (in Indonesian). It’s really worth watching if you want to reflect.