Saturday, June 19, 2010

Temptations vs. Aspirations

I've made my way about halfway through What Should I Do With My Life (Po Bronson) now... I've been taking my time with it, because I think that there is a lot of good info in the context, and I haven't been disappointed so far.

The third section, Temptations vs. Aspirations, focuses on people who struggle with trying to do something that they feel driven to do, while dealing with life's time constraints and unforeseen complications. I think this section is pretty relevant, although in a subtler way. People face these kinds of dilemmas a lot--wanting to follow a childhood dream but falling into those unavoidable pitfalls, like money, location, or status.
Here's some food for thought:

"'What should I do with my life?' is the modern, secular version of the great timeless questions about our identity, such as 'Who am I?' and 'Where do I belong?'... Asking the question aspires to end the conflict between who you are and what you do. Answering the question is the way to protect yourself from being lathed into someone you're not."

"...'If i were to make an early exit from this world, what will I feel worst about not getting done?'... Not 'What will I be most proud of or what will be my legacy?' It questioned the logic of his plan to do this, then that...Time might be too short for that."

"What distinguishes people like Anthony is that their motivation comes from the heart, rather than the head. Life is not a dress rehearsal, it's the real thing... It's precious and vulnerable. And those who feel this are willing to make hard choices."

"You can have more than one purpose in life, and you can do them together or sequentially--it doesn't matter, so long as you are pursuing them and not some other, unimportant thing."

"I'm not sure there are right answers, which means we have to let it be okay that we make what appear, in hindsight, to have been mistakes. We shouldn't beat ourselves up about it...very few people get it right without missteps."

 * * *
 What I am finding so interesting about this book is two-fold. 
A- I think that everyone should read it. This is one of those books that I think holds something different for everyone, depending on your unique circumstances. There are all kinds of hidden gems that I have found applicable to my personal situation, and I'm willing to bet that this could be true for anyone. 
B- It has really helped me to relax. Not that Mr. Bronson is the end-all-be-all life guru or anything, but having someone else ask all these questions, and seeing that a ton of other people are dealing with the same stuff, offers some insight. It helps you get out of your box and look at the big picture.

So now, I'll be battling with my eyelids for the next 6 hours...listening to the ever so soothing drones of the police scanners.
It's a party, let me tell you.

Happy Saturday!

Yours, truly

No comments:

Post a Comment