Thoughtful Tuesday: Your Approach to Life
Here’s something I’ve thought about on and off for a while now… What’s your approach to life? I mean, how do you treat your own life? I guess this is sort of hard to explain, so I’ll tell a brief story… Back in 2012, when I was all stressed out about maintaining high grades in university, I was suffering a lot in just about every other aspect of life because I was so focused on one thing: school. My life wasn’t balanced at all, and my mental health took a toll as a result of my school obsession. Eventually, a former classmate said to me “I think you should stop complaining. Life is an experience, not a competition.” I never forgot those words… Had I been treating my entire life like a competition all those years, trying to be the best at everything and working myself into a frenzy? Maybe… But…I loved what I did, and wanted to be great at it, so was I on the wrong path? I am still not sure… In any case, I think I still treat life as somewhat of a ‘competition,’ and a convincing argument can be made for that, especially if one takes a Darwinian approach. However, maybe it would be healthier to simply view life as an experience, and let things ‘be’ a little bit more, rather than try to dominate and control them… Happily, after that tough semester, I began to fret less about school and learned to have more of a balanced life. Then, after I finished my undergraduate degree, and began teaching abroad, life became more of an ‘adventure’ and less of a ‘competition,’ though the competitive element certainly never went away. Now, with a young son to raise and protect, I guess it is a bit less of an ‘adventure’ than before, and more of a competition again, but more for his sake than for mine (pressure to provide to the best of my ability). Who really knows...? Haha. So, what’s your approach to life? Do you view it as a competition, an adventure, an experience, a rollercoaster ride, or something else entirely? I hope this topic makes sense… Let me know if it’s unclear!