I've never condoned the use of excuses to avoid responsibilities for one's problems. I feel like making excuses for why things didn't go your way is the easy way out of doing everything you can to ensure they DO go your way in the future.
However, after a long discussion with my Mom about why things aren't going my way, in which she divulged every possible excuse I could have come up with, I realized that excuses aren't always deflectors of responsibility. Sometimes they are "band-aids."
For example, saying things like "That's just the way things are." or "It takes time." or "If it's meant to be, then it will work out," when used incorrectly, can cause the person saying them to let go of the things that didn't work out. Instead, I realized, these phrases can be used as a temporary remedy to anxiety over not getting your way. Without this temporary relief, the constant attempts to advance towards your goals can burn you out long before you reach them. Every once in a while, then, it pays to just chalk up your inadequacies to fate....at least for a day.
In my life, this idea manifests itself in my desire to lead a more "free" life. My immediate reaction is to want this lifestyle NOW, before I am too old to enjoy it. However, I've realized that I must first take care of my debts, gain experience in my field, and polish myself as a person before I can take the leap in lifestyle.
So if a future version of myself is reading this, looking for insight in a time of despair, remember this: If it's meant to be, it will work out. It takes time. But, most importantly, only remember these things for a little bit...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Give me a rowboat or give me death
Perhaps it's appropriate that I want to move to an island. Because sometimes, I feel like I'm already on one.
I don't claim to be strong enough, smart enough, or fast enough to join the world's rich; floating around the Caribbean in their super yachts, powered by the automated cash flow that years of superb decision making has awarded them. And yet I always wondered what, if anything, separated me from them. Perhaps I, too, could float around the Caribbean, if only in a sailboat, kept afloat by a small business or remote career. Certainly this lifestyle isn't just for the ultra wealthy, right?
Everything I had learned up until about a year ago told me that only by becoming a millionaire could I live out such a fantasy. However, I'm starting to believe that with the proper motivation, anyone can achieve this lifestyle. Unfortunately, it just takes a little longer than I had hoped. I'm a person who wants immediate results; I won't do many things that don't show me a benefit on-the-spot. Aside from being a bad life motto to begin with, this belief makes it very difficult to take the painful, necessary steps towards a care-free lifestyle...especially when you are unsure what steps to take and how successful they will ultimately be.
I do know one thing for certain: there are three levels of living. One is the basics; food, shelter, some form of companionship. These are the things that everyone requires to survive, and there are people who survive on just this. The second is the American lifestyle; a life of excess, a life of bigger, faster, more....now. And somewhere in between is the lifestyle of contentedness. A life where you do not struggle to provide for yourself, in part because you do not require as much. You are happy with a few small comforts and a deep connection with your fellow man.
This is the lifestyle I seek. And I fear I am one of the few in this area. Each day, I watch more of my friends dedicating more of their time to doing more work to make more money to buy more unnecessary things to have more....more, more, more. They are proud to be Americans. I, on the other hand, am an agent of better. My life will not be defined by accumulation of wealth, but by accumulation of experience. And that mindset has no place here.
Wherever I end up, you can be certain it will be a place that embraces the concept of better experiences over more possessions. I just hope it's not only accessible by yacht.
I don't claim to be strong enough, smart enough, or fast enough to join the world's rich; floating around the Caribbean in their super yachts, powered by the automated cash flow that years of superb decision making has awarded them. And yet I always wondered what, if anything, separated me from them. Perhaps I, too, could float around the Caribbean, if only in a sailboat, kept afloat by a small business or remote career. Certainly this lifestyle isn't just for the ultra wealthy, right?
Everything I had learned up until about a year ago told me that only by becoming a millionaire could I live out such a fantasy. However, I'm starting to believe that with the proper motivation, anyone can achieve this lifestyle. Unfortunately, it just takes a little longer than I had hoped. I'm a person who wants immediate results; I won't do many things that don't show me a benefit on-the-spot. Aside from being a bad life motto to begin with, this belief makes it very difficult to take the painful, necessary steps towards a care-free lifestyle...especially when you are unsure what steps to take and how successful they will ultimately be.
I do know one thing for certain: there are three levels of living. One is the basics; food, shelter, some form of companionship. These are the things that everyone requires to survive, and there are people who survive on just this. The second is the American lifestyle; a life of excess, a life of bigger, faster, more....now. And somewhere in between is the lifestyle of contentedness. A life where you do not struggle to provide for yourself, in part because you do not require as much. You are happy with a few small comforts and a deep connection with your fellow man.
This is the lifestyle I seek. And I fear I am one of the few in this area. Each day, I watch more of my friends dedicating more of their time to doing more work to make more money to buy more unnecessary things to have more....more, more, more. They are proud to be Americans. I, on the other hand, am an agent of better. My life will not be defined by accumulation of wealth, but by accumulation of experience. And that mindset has no place here.
Wherever I end up, you can be certain it will be a place that embraces the concept of better experiences over more possessions. I just hope it's not only accessible by yacht.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)