From where I stand, doing too much is clearly connected to the absolutely natural norm of setting goals for ourselves. Sometimes, fueled by the flawed perception of achievement that convinces us to take on far more than we can handle (or equally bad, spend our lives hunting for breakthroughs), we set impractical goals that do not take our limitations into consideration. Everyone wants to ‘find purpose’, but we never want to accept that the most effectual life we could live may be a simple, unglamorous one. I’m not going to tell you how to define your success (even though we all…
Second thoughts
From Life Lessons
Life Is Not A Sprint
I’ve been feeling stuck lately, trapped in the torturous repetition of commuting, working and getting whatever joyless sleep I can. I cycle the loop weekday after weekday from one month to the next till it’s “Happy New Year!” and the old beginning of the same old life arrives with muted fanfare wherever the first of three hundred and sixty-five midnights finds me. All activities outside this routine are brief intermissions between the dreary acts of an extended real-life drama, flashes of relief from the grind. I wish adulthood came with a warning label: ‘This train doesn’t stop till you do, permanently. Get on at your…
With All Overdue Respect
We may throw the word around a lot, but we have little regard for respect. And nothing good thrives in a culture of disrespect. It could even be the strongest reason for the toxicity that has overtaken the world. I’ll explain. I learned early in life to respect my elders, which basically meant that I…
12 Lessons From A Year Of Work
1. It’s very unlikely that you’ll save your way to a life of luxury. Manage your expectations of what your money can do for you. After several false starts, I started a couple of savings goals. Self-congratulations, but the interest on my savings was never really encouraging. All I had was some money I hadn’t…