I've recently turned 22 and have looked back on my life to see that so far, although I am better off than a lot of people, I have yet to accomplish anything of real value (be it a discovery or simply even a college degree). My questions are as follows: what have you done up to 22 years of age ? What was your status ? Call me insecure but I truly think I should be doing more... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
im 20 and i am still trying to get a company to let me do my first year of my aprentiship with themPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! so far ive only done 3 monthsPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I dont think it matter too much if you havent done anything yet Solidus but as long as you are building for the future and have some direction. Deciding what you want to do is half the battle! At least then you have something to aim for and know roughly what you are doing. I am 22 and havent got a degree yet but i am in my first year so im on my way. Asguard has only done 3 months apprentiship but at least he has something to aim for. Plus the waiting for him probably means that when he does get his chance he will grab it with both hands unlike someone who doesnt really want to be there and drops out after a week or two. Remeber Solidus, life is a marathon and not a race. When your 40 you will probably only be half-way through your life! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! As long as your building for the future and aiming for something i think you should be ok (as long as its really what you want). Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I'm 22 and despite having a degree, a thesis, and a variety of small accomplishments (exosci, sciforums, Acquisition) behind me, I still feel entirely unsatisfied and irrelevant, perhaps moreso than ever. I realize it's an amazingly hokey and hackneyed thing to say (so much so that I ignored it for too long), but ultimately love is the only think that will make you content, and it'll do so to such a degree that any failures or insecurities you have will be rendered irrelevant. Lusting after success, academic or monetary, will bring you moments of intense happiness inlaid against a backdrop of torment. Believe me, my modest accomplishments have come at an incredible cost that I'm not sure I appreciate in retrospect.
My point is that lusting after anything that would traditionally be considered an "accomplishment" is ultimately unsatisfying. Many people never come to this realization. To counter your point, life is not a marathon. It's not a competition. It's an experience. Aim for nothing and you will find everything.
You can't take money and certificates with you when you die. If there does happen to be anything after death, what you take may be just your memories and personality.
Excellent insight. Mrs. Fish and I were both on the fast track and making serious dollars in our late twenties and early thirties. Promotions, commuting 2 hours each way because of traffic, working 10-14 hours a day consumed us. A few years back we took a look at our lives and decided we were not happy. We left the corporate world - she for a local school system, me for a family-run business and moved from a single family home to a townhouse. We make far less money, but the benefit in what we consider quality time - together alone or training our dogs, community volunteering, crafts, writing - has been incalculable. I understand the drive to succeed when we're young - it's drilled into us. And, though it's a "hokey and hackneyed" thing to say, I am just glad that we were able to step off and actually BE with each other while we have time enjoy our lives. :m: Peace.
i still have four years until im twenty-two.. but here are my goals when i get there... become completely financially independent, and well off at that with two years behind me my in Graphic Design and four as a nail tech. Finish my "fix 'er upper" project and, at 22, move to hollywood. watch for my name in the credits. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ..hehehe.. gotta dream BIG. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hmmm... I must be a contrary. I'd say aim for everything and you find something, esp. true if your male. By 22 I had figured out a 486 just wasn't fast enough, a quick sort was better than a bubble sort, an idiot with a degree is still an idiot and when you ask a RAF pilot if you can do stunts, he'll try his damned hardest to make you puke. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Porfiry, are you a follower of Aristotle ? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You are wise beyond your years. At 22 I wanted financial success. I focused on the future to the detriment of the present. Thankfully I got tired of that and now I’m happy with whatever comes my way. I’m so care-less you’d think I’d be living in a cardboard box. I discovered, though, that the good stuff sorta magically comes your way when you least expect it. I think life is an experience for the purpose of entertainment. And life is most entertaining when you love, be it your work, others, or yourself.
:bugeye: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Sorry Porfiry, I dont know why i said this. I was drunk when i posted it so that would explain a lot Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I have just looked over your post and i agree with you. But i would also say that what happen when you have found love and your thoughts turn to an ambition youve always had? Plus there is the fact that your loved one may encourage youo into this. I think that at the end of the day, no matter who you are, all anyone is here for is to have kids and therefore continue humanity. However it is important to be balanced and to attempt to fulfil your own desires and make yourself a happier individual. Asking this little amount should surely be granted (but this may not be a fair and just world) however just becuase you do not ask for much does not mean that you will get it: some people want everything and dont even appreciate it; Victoria Beckham Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! and then still want more. Some people cant even have children and they name there child Romeo! Theyve made him into a clown. Anyway, basically i would agree with what everyone on here has said that life is an experience and should just be lived and should not be measured with the success gauge we currently have: money or fame etc
I don't think at 22 you should be in a big hurry to feel your life is meaningless because you haven't acomplished big things yet. We can't all be Alexander the Great or such things. Many sucessful people don't make great acomplishments until later in life anyway. I'm 22 and will be 23 at the end of January. When I was 17 I got my black belt. I studied for several years to teach Kung Fu but the kids drove me insane and I couldn't do it. I've taken science cources, worked at animal shelters and done a few more things that lacked sucess. Then I started taking photography classes and I'm going into freelance. I've also went into making films amaturely of course. I think the key is to find something you really enjoy and stick with it. There is more to success than how much money, prestige and fame you can achieve. Everything we do reflects the rest of the world anyway, no matter how minutely.
So you're saying that having an awesome career or job isn't another way to find 'contentness'? I don't know - I think there are the few people who can find contentness in other things than love. Maybe if all you care about is the accomplishment, and the time you spend working towards that is just the necessary evil. For some people though, it's the journey, not the destination. I'm working towards a 'black belt' in Hapkido - an accomplishment that takes a huge amount of work, but I'm enjoying it nevertheless. Honestly I'm not sure whether this is brilliant insight and wisdom, or just a pithy remark from someone who's not happy with where he's at. I think you have a point, but you're coming at things from the wrong angle. Perhaps you can enjoy working towards things as much as actually achieving them? If you aim for nothing you'll find nothing. If you aim for something, you might not hit the right thing, but at least you'll hit something. In that case, I'd rather take memories of a well-lived life, as opposed to a wasted one. I can't take the money and certificates with me perhaps, but as you suggested I can take the memory of buying the Ferrari 355 and having fun with it - with me. -- To be clear I'm not arguing that the 'financial success' path is necessarily better than the 'it's an experience' path Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! - in reality I would suggest a balance. I have to agree, life is an experience. However, there are some things we need in order to enjoy the experience... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! -Distortion
Distortion – I see it a bit different than that. The Ferrari can be an experience too. Rather than aim for nothing I’d say expect nothing. Minimize your expectations. Not only will you appreciate whatever comes your way, but you’ll find that, paradoxically, an abundance comes your way. The richest do not expect to achieve the Ferrari. They love what they do; the money is a byproduct of that love. In this way they acquire the Ferrari effortlessly.
I agree with you. As I described in my post, the Ferrari isn't worthwhile - only to those who see the work involved to get it as 'the necessary evil' - you have to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. There are people who work their butts off to get that Ferrari though, and they enjoy it all the more for that I guess. I doubt that many if any people earn a Ferrari 'effortlessly' though Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! What I do disagree with however is the 'expect less and you'll be disapointed less' philosophy. That sure as hell won't get you anywhere. Expect more and put more into it. -Distortion
Distortion – How did “abundance comes your way” become “you'll be disappointed less”? Perhaps an example will help. Despite being a college dropout, my income is excellent. Every year I quit my job for 4 months, during which I do all the other things I like. I don’t look for another job. It just comes my way. Always has, always will, until it doesn’t. I rarely work, I joy. Enjoying what I do, I’ve become good at it and people pay me top dollar for it. I could buy a Ferrari today, but if I lost everything tomorrow I’d still be happy. It may be hard to believe that the job & money materializes because I don’t expect it. Here is a secret of the universe: You get what you choose. If you expect more, you get more expectation. If you expect or want or desire something and move towards it, it pushes away from you so you can continue expecting/wanting/desiring it. You can try my method in small ways to see that it works. For example, if you wish to find a parking spot in a congested area, clear your mind of the desire for it. Instead imagine that the spot exists. Do not question whether it exists. The spot will materialize. Eventually you’ll become more confident and you’ll know the spot exists. You’ll know it was there even as you chose it. No doubt the method will work in Hapkido too. “Knock and it shall be opened to you.” A book about this topic is Illusions by Richard Bach. There’s also a movie on video now that illustrates this called Life or Something Like It.
Zanket, Is there a logical or philosophical basis to your method? Can it work in more extreme situations? Let's say if a person was diagnosed with a terminal disease - what should he do? Should he visualise or imagine that he will heal? And by that, the healing will materialize? Don't get me wrong. I mean no disrespect nor sarcasm by asking the above questions. Just that when someone mentions a secret of the universe, I'm intrigued to know more. I wanted to PM you but your PM board is not accessible.
