Greetings. It's been a while since I felt in a position to ramble. Share my thoughts, however coherent or otherwise. Life has a habit of taking over, leaving no room for introspection. And then, as stuff adds up, confusion reigns and clear thought departs. I have, however, had the chance to get some reading done lately and am busy finishing up The Dip by Seth Godin. The book explores the concept of quitting which seems apt when it comes to many of the choices we make on a daily basis.
The main question is what does quitting imply? We live in a world that seems to equate quitting only with failure but he convincingly argues differently. I'm not going to get into the details of it (a quick and easy read, if you want to check it out). I have been looking at it in relation to my life. I have always tried to do what I enjoy doing and what inspires me in the belief that life is too short to do what you don't want to do. For that reason, it takes both hands and feet to count the industries I've explored. Lots of fun, great learnings and challenges. I have left projects and jobs at what to some may see as inopportune moments for my sanity.
Life changes on us. Our responsibilities evolve. Our needs expand. These all affect the decisions we make. What I'm grappling with is whether one then does things they do not necessarily want to do to fulfil their duty. Where is the line between fulfilling self and fulfilling responsibility beyond self? How responsible is it to subject loved ones to sacrifice when it mainly feeds one's own desires?
Who you are is determined by much, including what you do to make ends meet. We spend more time with the people we work with than our families. What this means, to me, is that the decision to pursue a career, a job, in a particular space, at a particular time, is an extremely important one that cannot be taken lightly. If you are reading this, it means you are one of the privileged few who actually have choice. What are you doing with it? I ask myself that every day and do not yet have an answer. Would love to hear your thoughts.
The main question is what does quitting imply? We live in a world that seems to equate quitting only with failure but he convincingly argues differently. I'm not going to get into the details of it (a quick and easy read, if you want to check it out). I have been looking at it in relation to my life. I have always tried to do what I enjoy doing and what inspires me in the belief that life is too short to do what you don't want to do. For that reason, it takes both hands and feet to count the industries I've explored. Lots of fun, great learnings and challenges. I have left projects and jobs at what to some may see as inopportune moments for my sanity.
Life changes on us. Our responsibilities evolve. Our needs expand. These all affect the decisions we make. What I'm grappling with is whether one then does things they do not necessarily want to do to fulfil their duty. Where is the line between fulfilling self and fulfilling responsibility beyond self? How responsible is it to subject loved ones to sacrifice when it mainly feeds one's own desires?
Who you are is determined by much, including what you do to make ends meet. We spend more time with the people we work with than our families. What this means, to me, is that the decision to pursue a career, a job, in a particular space, at a particular time, is an extremely important one that cannot be taken lightly. If you are reading this, it means you are one of the privileged few who actually have choice. What are you doing with it? I ask myself that every day and do not yet have an answer. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Ramblings return more with questions than clear thoughts.
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2 comments:
We are never taught by our elders (or we are?) that we will come across such issues upon starting families. (Our parents are just pleased ha baradi babona bafumana manyalo). Those are the considerations you need to make when making somoeone a part of your life and then having babies with them. I had to learn the hard way and even fear that my desires to persue 'my life' might just scramble everything up and leave people single, with divorced parents and create some deep seeded social issues in the future. Scary stuff. It all leaves me to believe that the concept of marriage is not realistic in our times of living. Unless if the rules are changed.
You make an impeccably well-stated point on the challenge of achieving our personal dreams on the one hand, while fulfilling our responsibility to others on the other.
This question has plagued so many people: At what point do my goals and aspirations interfere with or even cause harm to others.
It is a challenging predicament that faces people across races and socioeconomic backgrounds, and I highly doubt that there is a single answer.
I have maintained for quite some time now that, in the absence of some higher reason for life, the best thing we can do on earth is to ensure our happiness and the happiness of as many others as possible. We should do the things that make us happy,as long we are sure that they do not harm others or make our lives more difficult in the long run. In other words, do what you want as long it doesn't screw others (or yourself in the long run) over.
I enjoyed your post and will keep checking back.
Salaam/Shalom/Peace
-- "Any man that knows, knows he knows not a damn thing at all" --
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