Life satisfaction

[ksinger]

To Perry,

You are taking what I meant the wrong way, but go right ahead. I was speaking from a more spiritual/psychological/personal perspective. You, on the other hand, have defined success as related to money and jobs, and almost exclusively related to being an entrepreneur. I never said you stop striving, or give up on solving your problems, as you define them. But monetary "success" is only one of many factors that can contribute to happiness, which is what I actually thought this discussion was about, not about money. Although it seems that the idea that money = happiness is very much alive and well.

One of the friends I referenced above, was an extremely successful doctor - classic overachiever. Three undergrad degrees - industrial engineering, microbiology, and philosphy - in 6 years, and then to med school. He had it all, professional respect, meaningful work, money, an (apparently) great marriage, a beautiful home, great friends. Eight weeks after ruminating to a friend about how wonderful his life was, his marriage was gone (no details given here, but it was terribly sordid, shocking and NOT his fault). A few months later, he was diagnosed with an incurable neurological disorder, which pretty much shot his doctoring career. Tough times. Is he still a "success" by your definition? By his own? I''m sure what he once considered so important, has had some revising, and it was probably a painful revision.

Sometimes a path DOES close down. I cannot be a fireman AND a ballerina AND a doctor. My life is finite. The trick is to find the balance, determine what is important to YOU, and to be content regardless of circumstances. It''s a spiritual issue. IMO, people constantly get the cart before the horse. Happiness does not come from endless "doing" but from a person''s BEING. Get that part right, and as Haven has noted, the "doingness" usually follows.

And of course, I''m sure everyone is painfully aware that I could comment at length about the school related part of your response, I''ll spare everyone the threadjack, and simply note that the public school system is completely irrelevant to this particular discussion.

To TGal re: documenting life rather than living it...

Real text of Droid ad (to visuals of a guy surfing a giant wave):

Does your phone surf the web? Does your phone surf the web with the speed and power of the pro surfer in pipeline? Does it bring you the web in all its glory, in all its intended pixels? Allowing you to reach the farthest expanses of its universe, deepest depths of its oceans - without getting as much as a grain of sand in your shorts? Droid Does! Wave-shredding web speed… In a world of doesn’t – Droid does!

Ksinger''s revised text of Droid ad:

Does your phone surf the web? Does your phone surf the web with the speed and power of the pro surfer in pipeline? Does it bring you the web in all its glory, in all its intended pixels? Allowing you to reach the farthest expanses of its universe, deepest depths of its oceans and watch other people doing things that you''re too chicken**** to do yourself – without getting as much as a grain of sand in your shorts? Droid Does! Wave-shredding web speed… In a world of doesn’t – Droid does so you don''t have to!

 

[Steel]

Sizzle, thanks for posting this.

I''m pleased to not be alone in this. DH and I have been rushing since we got together and it would be nice to stop and be happy just ''being''. We strive to be and have better and have realised that we never stop to enjoy it.

We have decided to ''stop'' when we move into this house. We are getting old and feel it, so it is about time we had some of the fun that other people talk about. I hope we remember how.