16 May 2012

Life



What is the meaning of my life?


· What is my object (also referred to as ‘ purpose/reason ’)?
·What are my values and where do they emanate from?
·Am I happy with my lot in life and, if not, what is missing?


We need to think about these things on a more regular basis and make transformations as our lives change.  We are not the same people we were in college and our panorama is probably much different than it was back then.If it is not, then I would question where our presumed growth is.


We need to stop, or at least pause, here and there and think. The speed of life today seems to be ever increasing, though we obviously have the same 24 hours in a day which every human has had or will have.  I Read an article last week from Harvard Management titled “The Dangers of Distraction” and Alex Pattakos’ book “Prisoners Of Our Thoughts” plus my own insights, it is clear that what we lack today is depth in our relationships.Not just in our personal relationships but with our work and colleagues and any of our near and dear ones. Technology connects us more to each other than ever before(mobiles, laptops, ipads); however, in our goal to do many things at once, the ubiquitous multi-tasking, we can only deal with the surface issues as we jump from one issue to another. 


To gain meaning from our work we have to go deeper.  There is meaning from just getting a pay cheque to pay the bills.  I won’t dispute that.  But to gain a deeper meaning in your work may require that you look not only at your particular task but who is involved in your work.  There, in our connection with others, is where meaning may be found.  In this scenario, a cab driver can be a quick tour guide to give each rider a unique experience versus just taking people from place to place.


I was having a discussion on Friday with one of my friend and he shared a perspective which I think is important. He said that we sometimes focus our attention on our peers, friends relatives – what are they doing, are they getting more attention, better assignments, more this, less that, etc.  Then he said, “If you are trying to advance but only look sideways, you will only trip.  You should look forward.”  


I’ll end with the Socratic proposition that “the unexamined life is not worth living” is still true today.  I add my own 2 bits, which states that “the life un-lived is not worth examining.”  So think and then do.  Missing one or the other, leaves us all not fully able to understand the full scope of our life’s potential and meaning.


Choose Happiness and look forward to another post on are related topic. :)