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I was watching "Chopped" the other day and one of the contestants said that she was going on the show to prove that you can do anything you set your mind to. I hear that phrase a lot and its supposed to be inspiring but honestly, I find it incredibly dumb and naive. Think about it, if you set your mind to being an opera singer but you can't carry a tune, your screwed. You can try and "set your mind to it" but the end result will be failure because not everyone is blessed with the gift of a beautiful singing voice. The phrase should be "you can do anything your god given talent allows you to do." Everyone has some kind of talent and some kind of purpose in life but it may not always be what we want or think we will do. I get pissed when people say banal cliched phrases like "you can do anything you set your mind to" because it is simply not true. Maybe you think I'm being angry and bitter right now but I'm really not. I have been known to be that but today I'm honestly just puzzled by the mind set of human nature sometimes. I think we are a culture that sets ourselves up for failure. Success is measured by money, not happiness and we worship celebrities that make a living out of doing nothing rather than teachers that slave to make our children better people. Nothing makes sense and I'm not sure why I'm trying but lately I've been thinking a lot about careers and life direction and what that really means for me. When I was in high school, I got asked what I wanted to be often and my answer was always different, always something snide. I would say a strawberry farmer or an elephant tamer or a safari tour guide. I used humor as a way to deflect my insecurity and uncertainty about myself, my talents and my life direction. I ended up choosing English as a major in college only after being forced by my advisers to make up my mind already. I ended up with a double major and a minor when I graduated because I still did not know what I really wanted. I then spent 8 years still trying to figure it out and then another 8 in a career I really enjoyed and now here I am again thinking about starting a career as an organic beet farmer or a paint by number artist. I envy those who know what they want to do at an early age and then by my age are successful at it and making lots of money. I had a friend in college like that. She wanted to be a psychology professor and guess what she is now? yup living the dream in California. I envy it because she never questioned herself, she never agonized over decisions and she never got racked with uncertainty and doubt about her abilities. Am I always going to be this way? Constantly changing careers, never able to make up my mind about anything, agonizing over every decision I make? Maybe but I have to find a way to be happy amidst all the uncertainty. That is my goal now. I might never find the elusive perfect career but I have to make a life for myself outside of that. My 81 year old father yesterday on the phone told me I have to get a life because I rarely do anything fun anymore. He is right. I have to stop putting my eggs all in one basket and try to do all the things that make me happy like reading good books and spending time outside, being active, cooking and spending quality time with the people I love. I have to stop staying indoors so much and watching TV and feeling anxious and worried about money and jobs. Or maybe I really will become a strawberry farmer.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2013 at 4:55 PM

    Perhaps crash test dummy? Maybe a job with the Dharma Initiative?

    ReplyDelete

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