?uestlove
Wednesday, July 18 : 5:11 PM : 0 comments :
Here's a list of questions a friend recently asked me:
a. Do you feel successful?
b. Do you feel fulfilled?
c. Do you feel bored?
d. Do you feel influential?
e. "In life, one must choose between boredom and suffering." Do you agree with this?
f. How do you measure success?
She requested "Yes/No" answers because she's traveling in Peru or something. Which leads me to believe that she's pondering these same questions herself. Keep in mind that she's hardly on a quarter-life crisis expedition. She's well on her way to graduating from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. Her first week on campus, she saw John Nash shuffling around. Yeah, he of the Beautiful Mind.By many standards of traditional success, this particular friend is well on her way to a fulfilling and important life. This is after meandering her way from a liberal arts degree to a possible fine arts career, to hosting a NPR-style radio show in Taiwan. Life pushes you in funny directions but it always comes back to the same questions doesn't it?
Most of my conversations with Mary revolve around defining and finding happiness. I'm a puzzle to her because I'm consistently happy while also consistently achieving nothing. She's a go-getter who consistently achieves but is never consistently satisfied -- forcing her to reflect every step of the way.Now that we're both "doing something," it seems like we're coming ever closer to achieving the Five Points of Success (Career, Friendship, Relationship, Health, General Happiness). But it hardly seems much different than before.
Many times, people assume you're doing well because your paper life is doing well. Great job, fulfilling relationship, wonderful friends, happy, etc. But many times, despite outward appearances, nothing's right at all.
Here's my question: Which would you rather have? Help or self-help?
