Whats better? Living life day to day, paycheck to paycheck, and enjoying the moments in between? Or striving to achieve a career, wealth, and success? Don't people try to obtain these things in order to just that? Enjoy lifes moments? Or is it just for bragging rights? And aren't these people actually miserable? What exactly is a comfortable life? Surely big houses, nice cars and good careers cannot equal happiness. What's better? Is it worth it? Do I need to sign away my life to college, corporate america, and the pursuit of... whatever it is? I'm at a fork in the road and I'm lost. There must be something more to life than this. I want to hear from anyone and everyone. What do you wish you could do differently? Are you content?
Very good question. I asked myself that question many times throughout my life... When I was a child, I used to hate school. I'm a very creative person, so I've always felt very confined at school. That's because school teaches people to become employees. I hate being an employee. I hate receiving orders and blindly accomplishing them. I've always wanted to create things, not run things. So that's why I started studying so many things. I have studied many subjects you can think of. That made me not only versatile but extremely open to all kinds of people, because I can see their differences and I apreciate those differences. Eventually, I got tired of school and decided to go through a great adventure. I was 17 years old when I left my country and came to Canada. I quickly adapted myself. Now, 5 years later, I'm married and I have a kid. I recently discovered one of my most hidden passions, last December- enterpreneurship. Since then, I've read more then 5 books on the subjects. I have become so good at it that I'm writting a bussiness plan for the college Student Union Building. It has already 10 pages, it is fairly detailed and it includes an extensive market research I've done with surveys. I also plan to expand that plan to more the 50 pages, as the Finance Executive of the Student Society (I'm running for it right now). After all this, the answer for your question is really simple: integrity. Integrity gives you strenght to do anything you wish because you deeply believe in yourself and no matter what anyone say, you know who you are. That is the greatest power on earth. The ancient called it "faith". So there you are. If you want a purpose for your life, pursue integrity and you will be able to do anything you set your mind to. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I would also like to quote Winston on that.... We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. -- Winston Churchill Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Personally, I'd recommend you go for whatever really interests you as far as work. Don't go for the money, the fame or the prestige. They are hollow if you don't enjoy what you are doing, and they tend to require a hell of a lot of time and energy, so much so that they may break your spirit in the long run.
That's a VERY good question! One that people should think about more often, especially while they are young. Yes, I'm very much content. I believe I was quite fortunate in life and also had a great deal to do with sending it in the direction I wanted it to go. One major element is that I enjoyed my work. And my opinion is that someone who does not like what they are doing should either force a change or never complain about it. It's entirely up to them. Anyone who desires fame, fortune, promotions, whatever - should actively work toward their goals. Just waiting for it happen is pure foolishness and it will most likely NEVER happen. You also need to clearly define your goals early. Mine were what I call modest and simple: to provide for my family, enjoy my work, have time to enjoy my family as well, and reach a point where I could eventually retire in comfort. I'm quite happy to say that it all worked out that way. I even managed to retire early and with ALL my debts paid, a considerable amount of savings and even more in various investments. I really have little need to even touch any of that because we live quite comfortably on my two retirements checks each month. And since I'm not even 65 yet, hopefully I still have a number of years left to enjoy and do exactly as I please. I owe nothing (debts) to anyone and my wife and I can come and go whenever the mood strikes. If I had to do it all again, sure, there are some minor changes here and there that I'd make - but the original plan would not change one bit.
Knowledge is the ultimate good. And through that, no matter how you pursue and gain it, whether it be through schooling or on your own, you will always find hidden pathways to take that will give you motivation and interest, and add meaning to your life.
Seeing you`ll be spending a lot of your time (life) at work, best you do something that you enjoy, then you will enjoy life generally. Happiness. As Cotton says, money, fame etc. should be last in order. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is a possibilty, Today is all you have for sure. Enjoy today as best you can. Even at work. Perhaps, don`t see the road as a fork, rather a river with a thousand tribituaries. Flow where the drift is most pleasant, continually adjusting as you move forward.
Hey Violet eyes, i am sure you will be very aware just what a fukin mess the world is in. and tis despite millions of people feeing forced to run the ever increaslingly fast rat race.....for wht? for gross national profit? whose the'profit' FOR? for te rich elite.....and also to feed the ever fattening military industrial complex, which is waging illegal ars and contaminating the very planet wit radioactive fallout (depleted uranium'.....also. millions of people in modern world are on psychiatric 'medication'.....what does THAT tell us? well it tells ME trhat millions are very distressed wit moern life, and the only answr tis materialistic ulture has for this dissatisfaction is to try and drug it away. NUMB it! But I say, LISTEN TO tis deep dissatisfaction, because it is screaming out to be heard!! something is seriously wrong wit this game being played us, and efen Nature is suffering due to its oppreession. thousands of spcies dissapearing efery day, starvation for many of te world's pople, forests being chopped down, global warming, etc etc etc so we have to really ask ourselves what is all tis frantic hurrying about, and worship of 'celebrity' and 'success' and being a 'winner' mean questions like tis will take you OUT of thgeir trip. it HASto. you mAY get poor etc, but if you are pssionate to find a way t live intelligently, sustainably and so on. then you'll follow your integrity
Everyone is different. No one thing is good for everybody. To think so is to think like the government. To take a very basic trait that differs tremendously from one person to another: Some people are goal-oriented. Some people are process-oriented. Some people have a target, something that they want to achieve. They get satisfaction out of getting closer to it, and perhaps don't notice the details along the way because they're too focused on the distance. Other people appreciate details. They learn to do something very well and keep doing it better. They get satisfaction out of making something work, out of being efficient. And perhaps they don't have long term plans because to them life is a series of moments. Taken to an extreme either one can be a disaster. But if you fall somewhere in between it's okay. Everyone doesn't have to be at the same place on that spectrum. There are many other dimensions to our personalities. They're all the same in that it's probably not healthy for most people to be all one way and not at all the other, but it's okay for everybody to fall at different places along the spectrum. Living for the moment versus focusing on a long-term achievement is just one of the many dimensions that measure us. For most of us it's wrong to be absolutely either one. We have to function in both ways from time to time. There are no absolutes. Including this one. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The question is, are YOU content? Or happy? Honesty to oneself is one of the highest virtues. Balls to Satan. Be the GOOD person you are deep down. Be true to who you are without killing anybody. What else is there??? Jaybee.
i have never live my life doing something thinking that i need to do it to get somewhere else. whats important is reconizing oppurtunities that come your way and ACTING on them.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion. Can we be content and not stagnate? I say that honesty to oneself can be an illusion of what we want to see and not the reality. Define honesty to oneself, please.
Hi, there, violeteyes. I'm in the exactly same spot in my life. One of the main problems of being young today is that we have to decide out of an infinite amount of options, and I think maybe that's one of the reasons to why so many turn to drugs. :m: Or may be. I don't know. But that's a digresion. Now, what you could do, is look at yourself critically and ask yourself if there is anything you're not happy with. Whether it be your life, your friends, where you live etc, etc. If you could live anywhere in the world (you can), where would it be? And what interrests do you have that you could possibly make into a living? What kind of people make you happy, and where do you possibly think you could find them? What do you want out of your life that you know you can accomplish? If you realize that you are capable of accomplishing anything (a lot of bold, but who cares... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!) you put your mind to, life would suddenly consist of making your own reality in order to accomplish your goals and making yourself a happy person, rather than letting reality create reality for you. Cause, as we all know, reality can be quite harsh. But it doesn't have to be, if you don't let it. See? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You sound about the same age as me, if you're getting ready to go to college. I'm going abroad for a year to volunteer. Because I want to. Cause I want to get off the conveyor belt for a little while, to get a better idea of WHY I'm on it in the first place.
Society gives you very limited options. Don't live to eat. Living to eat is just survival. Life is short enough to risk a lot of adventures.... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
My father gave me excellent advice when I was a teenager. You spend so much time earning a living that you should find simething you enjoy doing that they will pay you for. I forget who said the following, which is also good advice. Imagine that life is like being on a train. Most people think that they will be happy when they reach some station: When I get out of school; When my parents no longer boss me around; When I get married; When I get a job and make money; When I have children; When the children grow up; When I retire; Et cetera. Most are waiting for something in the future, without realizing that life is being on the train. Talking to fellow passengers; Meeting new fellow passengers; Enjoying the scenery as it goes by; Finding something interesting to do now. Every day is a day to enjoy as best you can, without thinking that you will be happy when some future event occurs. You can waste your life waiting for one future event after another instead of being happy as you go along day by day.
