This reminded me of a conversation with my nephew, who has decided to change his degree from software engineering to anthropology. One could say, from “sure $$$” to “a competitive field that needs at least a Masters or PHD and even then, might not be able to get a job”
He continued to tell us how he loves learning languages and spends 6 months at a time learning different languages. He plays his guitar, he learns about history, he decides to start running at 5am in the morning etc etc.
I hope the world doesn’t squash his passions and the way he approaches life. I hope he can continue to follow his curiosity and doesn’t buy into the need to make it big.
We often think that earning good money is a marker of success. It’s been a good reminder of what success actually is. Thanks Stella!
One of the many things I love about retirement is that it has helped me redefine success. I love that I can dabble in lots of little pastimes for pleasure and not to assess whether they are worthy of merit based on what society sees as successful. Also no longer being tied to a job takes a lot of that achievement based worthiness out of the picture too. I find so much joy in the small things now.
I always like to say that you never know when your interests become handy and the reason why you stand out. I can think of so many ways that being a pianist—even a mediocre one—could come in handy one day. Whether it’s networking, serenading a loved one, or just picking music for a special occasion. I was very much into flowers a couple of years back, and we recently had to pick flowers for a high stakes, high profile occasion at work. My knowledge of flowers kicked in and surprised everyone! Never belittle the little things that you pick up out of sheer ‘interest.’
This reminded me of a conversation with my nephew, who has decided to change his degree from software engineering to anthropology. One could say, from “sure $$$” to “a competitive field that needs at least a Masters or PHD and even then, might not be able to get a job”
He continued to tell us how he loves learning languages and spends 6 months at a time learning different languages. He plays his guitar, he learns about history, he decides to start running at 5am in the morning etc etc.
I hope the world doesn’t squash his passions and the way he approaches life. I hope he can continue to follow his curiosity and doesn’t buy into the need to make it big.
We often think that earning good money is a marker of success. It’s been a good reminder of what success actually is. Thanks Stella!
One of the many things I love about retirement is that it has helped me redefine success. I love that I can dabble in lots of little pastimes for pleasure and not to assess whether they are worthy of merit based on what society sees as successful. Also no longer being tied to a job takes a lot of that achievement based worthiness out of the picture too. I find so much joy in the small things now.
I always like to say that you never know when your interests become handy and the reason why you stand out. I can think of so many ways that being a pianist—even a mediocre one—could come in handy one day. Whether it’s networking, serenading a loved one, or just picking music for a special occasion. I was very much into flowers a couple of years back, and we recently had to pick flowers for a high stakes, high profile occasion at work. My knowledge of flowers kicked in and surprised everyone! Never belittle the little things that you pick up out of sheer ‘interest.’