“If we want to succeed, it is necessary to understand what motivates us, as well as to know what we expect from ourselves.”
Marija Manojlović completed her studies in psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Aix-Marseille in France. He has experience working with children and youth in Serbia and France. She is currently working at the Development Counselling Centre of the Zvezdara Health Centre with children and adolescents. In addition, she is engaged in psychotherapy, as a licensed REBT psychotherapist. She is the author of numerous articles on the “Psychocentral” portal, “Psychological Counselling Centre” blog, as well as on the Facebook page Psychosynergy. She is also an occasional guest on various television programmes. As an external personal development counsellor, her role is to help young people recognize their talents and find a career path that is in line with their personality. Maria helps young people and their families to know and understand the motives for going abroad, as well as to psychologically prepare for separation from the family and a new way of life.
Interview questions:
1. Tell me a little more about the decision of enrolling psychology, and then a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology – What motivated you, attracted you to this profession? Did you change your mind when enrolling? What ruled it out to take this decision?
I am born in a family of doctors: my mum and dad are doctors and my grandfather was also a doctor, my great-grandfather was also a doctor, so helping people is very highly valued in my family system and helping professions have always been close to me. That is why the choice was clinical psychology. And psychology in general was a choice because it interested me as a combination of different disciplines – from biology or neurology to philosophy. There was an ambiguity between biology, dramaturgy and psychology, but since psychology is a helping profession, I think that was decisive.
2. Was studying a big challenge for you and what do you like to remember from that period?
No, I remember everything dearly, I am proud of my career. I think it is a very good faculty, at least my field, but University in general too. Somehow, studying was one of the most beautiful periods in my life: I met people alike me there, it was much easier for me to study than high school, for example. Just the idea of being responsible for my own order and schedule and taking the decision of taking on exams at my own pace, being all my own thing and knowing that I have anonymity was very pleasing for me. And generally, the stress that exists in high school – having always to be ready for questions, this does not exist in college. Another thing about college is meeting people who are similar to you, so it’s easier for you to study, and you also learn things that mostly interest you. Of course, not all things, and maybe not from the first year, but the whole journey of getting to know psychology was very interesting for me, and I would re-enrol to psychology if I could choose again.
3. What did the University teach you and what are you most grateful for?
I am grateful to University in Serbia because it is a university that includes knowledge from different parts of the world. So, when we learn what psychology is, we also learn what is said about psychology in America, what is said about psychology in Russia, and we really get a comprehensive knowledge of different directions, different notions of theoretical concepts in this area, as they don’t always match. This is what I am very grateful to the Faculty of Philosophy for. I have generally really never had a problem with any professor. I have the impression that the assessments I received were really objective. On a couple of occasions when I had some doubts, I could always go and look at the work and I never came to the position of not knowing why I got a grade, as those are very common stories. Mostly when I studied I would pass the exam. I had the impression that it was fair and I never fell into anxiety or depression about the obligations I had.
4. You also studied abroad: Can you tell me more about it? How was your admission? Why France? What memories do you have from that period?
You have a mandatory entrance exam for master studies there and you have to do the entry exam. So I had to finish first, I was actually the first of the generation to finish psychology, a complete coincidence as the documents for France were submitted in July at the time, so I had to finish all the exams in June and have the wonderful administration of my faculty and wonderful secretaries help out and give all the paperwork in quickly – which they really all did so that I could submit the documents and take the entry test. France is my choice because of my mother and because of my dear French teacher, Aleksandra Vojvodić. In addition, I received a scholarship from the French government, which made my expenses much easier, so everything somehow coincided. I have wonderful memories from France. I still have friends. I went to Marseilles again in August with one of my friends, so these are relationships that last, I would also choose France and that faculty again, and what I am grateful for, for example, the French faculty, unlike the Serbian one, is that I have learned to be equal with my professors: in Serbia it is very well known who is the professor and who is the student, and in France there is much more on you, much is expected of you, to research, to learn, to find literature. The French are oriented towards those people who come from France and have contributed to the development of psychology in the world. In Lacan, for example. I was lucky enough to have knowledge from different parts of the world and that knowledge is very solid precisely because of the classic student-teacher relationship and precisely defined entities that must be learned and mastered. This allowed me to gain a broad and solid knowledge base. So I think that frame set was ideal. So there are things I have to adopt which will be a good support, so I can take the initiative in the direction that interests me and learn to research and somehow form a picture of what I want and what I want to do.
5. Do you have any advice for future students who want to start or continue their studies abroad?
Apart from the academic aspect, it is a very important life experience. I’m from Belgrade, so I had never lived alone before. When I separated at the age of 22 and went to study, it was an important stage in my life, not only as an academic citizen, but also as a person who has matured through numerous challenges. It was not always easy and pleasant, but I am certainly very glad that I went through that journey.
6. What would be your primary advice to young people who are at a turning point and plan to enrol college or get a job?
Well, there is no general recipe, all I can say from personal experience is – I think that everyone should do what they like and then there is a much bigger chance of being good at it. If you are really good at something, then there is work for you, that’s what my dad has always taught me.
7. What is crucial for a successful career and which qualities and skills should a young person eager to becoming successful one day possess?
There is one formula in psychology that was given us at a lecture – it is called “Five Keys” and they are considered necessary for success.
These five keys include confidence – it means that you are confident in yourself and that when you learn something in the moment you should show that knowledge, you are confident; persistence is just that you can be persistent in what you do; flexibility – by flexibility they mean that when you experience failure you can quickly get back in shape; cooperation – to have good cooperation with other people, to be able to exchange information, seek information; organization – to be able to make a plan and work according to it. They say that if you have these five qualities, then you will be successful, and Novak Djokovic is often mentioned as a model example, who is already known everywhere in our country, and analysed during matches where he shows elasticity/flexibility, where shows perseverance, where he shows confidence/security … I would like to add another item, and that is innovation – the ability to use the acquired knowledge in a new and different way.
8. Is college necessary for a successful career? What does the university represent for you?
Personally yes. I would not want to be successful without studies, it would bother me, but the reality opposes my opinion: there are many successful people who do not have a degree and it is already obvious to everyone: from YouTube gamers, instagram influencers … It is no longer a question of my opinion it is a question of what is really happening in the world. I think that quick success is temporary success. I think that in order to do something, it is necessary not to be superficial. And when you’re serious about something, you need time to learn it. And if by success you mean money or fame, you will, unfortunately, sometimes come to this without knowledge.
9. What are the most common challenges that young students face and how to successfully overcome them?
I think it’s the parents because it’s the parents who commonly have ideas about what their children’s lives should look like, which of course is very understandable and acceptable and natural, but I think it’s the parents who actually bring in some kind, often at least with people who come to me, a kind of doubt and insecurity because they want to take their child on the best path: they propagate one path as the only right and good one. The other thing is that young people have not developed interests and then, of course, they do not even know how to decide. I think it is important to emphasize that it is not only at school to develop interests, that it must also be developed in the family: that the family must also offer some content that could interest the child. In addition, young people often do not have a clear value system. They themselves do not know how a profession fits into their image of themselves. The value system is taken over without distinction (I want to be rich and famous, most often, or I don’t want to have to work hard). So the lack of awareness of the interested party, the value system or that terribly rigid attitude of the parents, leads to insecurity in the child.
10. If you could go back in time what you would advise Maria from her student days (should she be less nervous, learn more, what to dedicate herself to, and what not to waste time on)?
I would advise her to start living independently before going abroad. I think that step would be much easier then: just to deal with the administration – to start paying bills, opening a bank account, to do it all in your own language before you are faced with doing it in a foreign language.
Second part of the interview:
1.The book that has had the strongest impact on you and why?
When Nietzsche cried” – it was a book because of which I also decided to enrol psychology.
2.Who is your 2021 hero?
Doctors
3.Who do you consider the most successful person in Serbia and why? What would be your criteria for success?
I couldn’t single out anyone special. I would single out anonymous people who are dedicated to their work – my mother, for example.
4. If you could have a super power, what power would it be?
I wish I had the power of reading minds so I could help other people better, but of course with them knowing about it, I wouldn’t like to cheat them. I wish I could teleport from place to place because sometimes it seems to me that I can’t get to be in all places at the same time, but that all that matters and the third power – I wish I could fall asleep whenever I want.
5. What does the word “believe” mean to you? What do you firmly believe in?
Slogan. The word “to believe” is a word with great power. Personally, I believe in principle: I really think that if a person does things with principles, everything will turn out fine, although many times it is very uncomfortable, very difficult, because it means not doing what suits you at that moment. Everyone has his own principles. For me, one of the most important things is to do things with good intention and be honest. If you work according to some of your inner morality and logic, then I believe that everything will be fine. No matter what happens, no one can take away the logic behind your behaviour and experience of your own worth.
