Chasing Immortality
Perhaps it is just the natural (statistically average) way of waking up. What if instead, setting an alarm for going to bed is something we could be doing as a species? Just something to think about when you wake up tomorrow, because when you aspire to be an authentic individual, you want to be working hard on achieving your potential. The notion keeps you so focused that you forget to eat, sleep or go out. It is your reason to get up in the morning, instead of the stress that makes you tirelessly long for your bed. It is a state of closed-mindedness to distraction while doing what you do.
It's about consciously not turning that knob; at least until your courses are over. If you give it all you have during the day, there is no need to feel guilty at night and having anxiety cloud your mind while you miss out on necessary R&R. Maybe it requires you to sacrifice too many aspects of your (social) life. Maybe there are better paths for you to take and flourish. In that case you might be wasting your time; and the university's.
Four Stories Unfolding
One of the four stories mentioned in this column last time, is the legacy we leave behind. You can think of E = mc2, Fur Elise, 4-minute mile barrier, landing on the moon, the bible, the Ipod. If those do not ring a bell, you can think of yourself. You are also a legacy of someone who came before you. They say that greatness is a lot of small things done well. Well guess what: You are one of these small things in a group of 7 000 000 000 people, today! You represent a small step of human kind on its way to immortality.
You and Yourself
If human kind lives forever, there is no need to fear death. There is also no need to fear missing out on something, because most things are recurring. Every generation will have another form of Michael Jackson, Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, Justin Bieber, Steve Jobs. Just with different names and other ideas, but the magnitude of their impact is consistent.
It is important to find something you love doing. Here's why: 35 years of work might seem over in the blink of an eye in hindsight, but if you do not have any long term plans the chance of achieving something tangible -besides material possessions- will be hard. Then you have to live the rest of your pensioned life with regret. And we mere individuals do not have eternity, so ask yourself: What do you love doing? Don't be someone else. Harness your own will and finishing your journey.
