Life is not as simple as it seems to be. Many people, in fact most of them just like to skim the surface and look at life at face value. How grossly wrong they are sometimes, how naive many people are and still is, stubbornly refusing to look further than what their physical eyes tell them.
I've reflected back upon my life and what i observed about many people. Life's much deeper than that. There's a flip side to what we always see on the surface. I still remember back at the CEO session, where prof mentioned that entreprenuership is over sold. I agree fully. Many people only see those people as being lucky, that they are "talented" and are successful, living a peaceful life full and enjoyment. How wrong are they. They don't see the struggle underneath it, the constant stress, the ups and downs. Not only those big shots but also normal people around you. Those that excel in their studies. Many just concluded that they are smart. While you can't deny that they are interllectually capable, people tend to forget that they are also the hardworking people. Most tend to overlook their hardwork, their constant revision and what not.
Life's never just black and white but in shades of grey. There isn't just one side of life. There are people who are rich but with it comes the stress. There are people who dun really do that fantastically well but they are happy. Several studies showed that while singapore is one of the more developed country we are rather low on the happiness scale. On the other hand, the happiest nation just so happen to be the poorest. That makes me wonder now, so what's the goal of life. Be rich? Be happy? or just to be able to live....they're always the pros and cons and i guess we just have to find the balance in it.
More importantly though, i think we should learn to treasure what we have. Most of us simply take things for granted and we will never know how much it means to us until we lose it. I'm starting to learn how to take time and appreciate the little gifts in life that we have and that to give my best in everything I do. Not just sit there and admire people but to put in effort to achieve what I want since i know nothing comes for free. At the same time, also taking time in enjoying life and slowly change my mindset to see things positively, afterall you only live once so why inflict unnecessary pain on yourself. Even though it may look bleak, i believe the dots will eventually connect in the future. Afterall, everything will be fine in the end, if it isn't fine, it isn't the end yet. I've learnt that in small little everyday occurences and it's time to start believing and learn to enjoy life to the fullest, even as i struggle through things in life ^^
Hey great post Carolyn. Success and Happy doesn't imply each other. It depends on 'goals in life' or what you are pursuing.
ReplyDeleteSome people can pursue success to an extend that can destroy their happiness. But maybe they don't care. The happiness they can feel is from their work, not 'happiness' as defined.
Some people don't have to be rich to feel happy. They just enjoy what they had. Sometimes, it is because their knowledge limits their view, so they felt happy with what they had (take children for example, or I can also show some example of myself). But concerning feeling, isn't it better that just leave them like that? Or expose them to real world, tell them how low lived they are (like the case of the poorest country)? I even came up with something like, "as long as you can *fool* yourself, you'd be happy" (not technically fooling, but like be happy with the situation you are in).
I also totally agree with your last paragraph. As I now realize that family, friends, etc. many things are important as well. So not only striving for success, I am trying to manage time and spent time for them. Not totally balance, but it is certainly better than before.
This post is quite interesting (as it agreed with what you said above), just read it yesterday:
http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/04/09/corrupted-callings-the-subtle-difference-between-finding-your-lifes-work-and-loving-your-life/
(Do read the comments, as some provide some insight views into the post).