Rewind
On the last day of high school during morning assembly, the Chaplain spoke about our future. He spoke about how we were done with school, but now starting out in life, with new dreams, aspirations, goals and desires. I did not pay too much attention to the bulk of this sermon, as I was only happy that high school was done and all the pain of study had come to an end, but found something in it captivating. The sermon spoke about how God created us as pursuers who discount what we have accomplished already, looking to the next best thing. I have chosen the word insatiable to define the part of human nature which keeps us hungry for more in life. Words used in the definition of insatiable include, incapable of being satisfied or appeased, thirst, appetite, desire, curiosity, hunger, need or even greed. The Oxford Dictionary tilts the word to especially refer to desire for sex, which I will steer clear of given the context of my objective. Reflecting back on that sermon years ago, I see what the Chaplain meant, as I have grown to see how insatiable I am as a human being.
The Paradox
I have goals that I pursue and some of them are on-going but most are attainable and achievable goals, which are short term in nature, soon goals no more. Once I attain some of these goals, I feel an urge to look for something else to pursue. That hunger, curiosity and thirst always comes up and needs to be fed. While I am pursuing something, sometimes, it feels like pain and hard work, and I only wish I was done with it, but once I am done, I am so used to being consumed and cannot just be doing nothing. I am therefore soon busy looking for more pain and hard work to consume me. What is this thirst within me? Why am I like this all the time throughout my life? The paradox of this is that, I enjoy having new goals and targets to follow at any point in my life. And these are not always big hairy audacious goals, but can be small goals I want to tick off my to do list. I recently spoke to a friend who ran the Comrades Marathon (89km race), and is now going for the Kilimanjaro Marathon (42km race). These are not easy races to run, and if I had personally completed the Comrades, I would gladly place that feather on my cap and take a bow, well that is what I think, but I could be wrong as well. She obviously feels that itch to conquer something else that most of us feel.
Bringing the tap
I am reminded of a dripping water tap, which does not stop releasing small drops of water. It is much like this insatiable part of human nature which drips these urges of desire and hunger, continuously pushing us to do more. There is always another race to run, another mountain to climb or a new feat to achieve. The drops seem small, but the source where the water comes from is massive, hence the tap keeps dripping day and night. Even while you sleep, you awake with a new idea for something new. The source keeps feeding your tap and it drips on. Once I reach a goal, it no longer motivates me, and I seek another motivating goal to pursue. I am always aspiring and looking forward to something that I can achieve. I thrive on that pursuit, to achieve, to overcome and to go further. I suppose I speak for many when I say we are insatiable beings (remember the disclaimer for the Oxford definition). Personally, I have never really stopped studying, despite completing a number of courses this far, I find myself starting on something else, though it sometimes gets tough and I may even develop cognitive dissonance in the process. I have written another blog titled "What is important?", and will hasten to refer back to it as a guiding principle when the tap drips. What are your own experiences and stories related to this? Is your tap dripping that continuous desire and how is it driving you further? How does your quest to tick off "100 things to do before I die" conflict or compliment the opportunity cost of time you could be spending in other ways?
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I think a little more age will help you be less impatient. You obviously have a lot of drive and are well motivated. You said you didn't pay much attention to the sermon and yet you seem to remember it quite well. Enjoy your drive to achieve and give yourself a break and relax sometimes. Just my opinion, of course.
ReplyDeleteYou spoke as if you read my mind Berth, because lately, I have been thinking that maybe I need just what you ordered there, breaks/relaxing. I would not fully attribute the perception of high drive that you picked up to myself really, but more to life lessons partly from my own life and generally to others around me as I watch, since the post intended to generalise observed human behaviour, while using myself as the man in the mirror. So my speedometer is not as high as it may seem Berth. I do try and include balance and I have updated with a link to a prior post I did on balance.
DeleteThat's right Welli. Passion is great, the desire to be more, to do more is awesome. But then, it is equally important to relax and breath!
DeleteBringing focus on one thing, getting it done completely before jumping onto another is very important ingredient to success.
But I liked your analogy of dripping water. Great example :-)
Welli, would life be nearly as enjoyable if you no longer had anything else to achieve? Just think how boring it would be if you could now say "That's it, I have nothing else to do." Personally, I think that would be horrid.
ReplyDeleteMuch agreed Lenie. It keeps life interesting.
DeleteI can't help but think that few ambitious people just remain satisfied and never want to achieve more. I always have a list - short-term and long-term and would be bored silly if I wasn't on the path to accomplishing my goals. I agree with Beth, being driven is wonderful, but NOT focusing on the future at times is a lofty goal, too!
ReplyDeleteInteresting approach Laurie, not focusing on the future as a goal! Yes you may fail to give more attention to now due to your eye being in the future.
DeleteLife without ambition and goals would be pretty boring. When you have a goal or goals you'll know what it is you need to reach your desired success and that does take ambition. However, it's important to be mindful of the your pace and take a break to reflect. When you do that, there may be a needed course correction that should happen that you may miss otherwise. Believe me, I know this is necessary from personal experience. I do wish you the best luck with your desired success.
ReplyDeleteYour comment reminded me of a quote that goes something like, you cannot change your destination by moving in the opposite direction of the train you boarded. Yes Susan, course correction, stepping off the train and looking for the right one.
DeleteAs humans we are, for the most part, always searching for ways to improve and grow. I have had many iterations of the tap drip over the course of my life but for the most part I would say my largest reservoir has been dedicated to the pursuit of travel and cultural understanding.
ReplyDeleteI envy your posts on travel, as I have that side to me that loves travel. The economics of life, we always sacrifice something by choosing something. Whatever one is pursuing at any time it is a reflection of their passion, hence the importance of knowing your passion and pursuing it.
DeleteBy way of note, I have updated the post to include a link to a previous post I wrote about the importance of balance in relation to the dripping tap. Please do check it out.
ReplyDeleteGood analogy with the dripping tap and the need to continually strive and accomplish a goal. I think that it is when we stop then life would also cease.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe when we've reached a goal sometimes, if it's been one that's taken a long time to achieve. When that's the case, these I like to take a moment to breathe before I rush headlong into another big project. But I'm also a big believer in life-long learning, whatever form that takes, so new goals big and small will pop up all the time.
ReplyDeleteI have learned to make goals for myself that are attainable, with small steps leading to the overall end result. There is such a felling of satisfaction when I finally achieve the goal successfully I cannot remember the struggles to reach them. Like you and many others I do feel a need to always work toward a goal.
ReplyDeleteWhen I retired from my corporate job, many people asked me what I would do with my time, as if there would be nothing to do without my job. But I have lots of other goals and curiosity and projects to keep me interested, busy, and alive. However, I think that an obsession to "tick" things off a "do before die" list can add more stress and less meaning to life.
ReplyDeleteThe drop seems small but the source is massive... I will be using that when I talk to some of the kids. You have a knack for using great analogies when you write and those help to drive the point home. This is a great post.
ReplyDeleteRight from time, I've always been content with what I have. Its mostly due to pressures that I try to keep reaching out for more. The only insatiable feeling I have is to keep working and making money in order to keep body and soul together. Because I can't afford to beg. Most humans generally are never satisfied with their present condition, so their tap keeps dripping. Lol
ReplyDeleteI think of the Easter dinner I had last night and I was very satiated. Yet, today I still need sustenance. I prefer the "curiosity" aspect of the definition. And how you mention making goals and aspirations.
ReplyDeleteHi Welli. It seems that an element of discontent is ingrained in human nature and if the tap wasn't dripping you'd probably be mildly disturbed by something else. I think its important to look at what still needs to be done but also take strength from what weve achieved and of course take some breaks to recharge.
ReplyDeleteBreaks to recharge. Did you just pre-empt something? Watch the next post.
DeleteI think God is always wanting us to keep searching. he made us creative and with brains to use. I think it is always good to keep striving for more but to not let it become debilitating or almost like an addiction to win. Balance is key. =)
ReplyDeleteWe all need to set goals for ourselves, but they need to be realistic. The one thing about goals is that they should be tweaked from time to time otherwise you will be disappointed if you do not reach them. I have a lot of drive and motivation but I have learned to be patient. All good things come in time.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who would describe himself as having insatiable goals, I find myself more and more with age reflecting on past goals that have been reached. Not to stick the feather in my cap but to remind myself that the next big hairy goal is obtainable. Peace.
ReplyDeleteGoals are important and they should make us need to stretch ourselves. If not, we don't make enough of an effort. Needless to say you should not aim for the impossible, such as being elected president of the United States if you are not American.
ReplyDeleteHaha Catarina. All within bounds indeed. It becomes pointless if one just aims for everything without cognisance of reasonability and feasiblity.
DeleteA good post, I must say! It is very important to scale new heights in life or at least keep on trying. I believe every human being should have his/her ambitions and learn to chase his/her dreams. I find it strange to see people lazing and wasting time without any urge to achieve more!
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to the audiobook of 10% Happier. It seems we can all benefit from being more mindful about everything and really looking at what we aim to do with our time.
ReplyDeleteIn life we are given one day at a time. Each day is a chance for us to determine how we will show up to be the grandest version of the greatest vision ever we held about who we really are. Each day is an opportunity for us to be our highest self. Source is ever-creative and we are created in that image. We are that.
ReplyDeleteNice analogy.
ReplyDeleteThis is our life that everyday we wake up with a goal no matter big or small. This is part of life if we do not have goals then life will stop I guess.
Each goal gives us passion and strength to fight and achieve it. All of us have unending desires.
But as Kumar said that completing one before starting other is key to success.
The thing that we are lacking today is the thought for everyday , all of us decide that today we will try to be closer to Creator with every possible way as each day is a blessing from Him, in this quest we will help others achieve their goals then He will make our goals easier for us or He will guide us.... Just thoughts.
Yes Anna, these days we do tend to get too busy to pay attention to our Creator who in fact can make us more productive in all we do.
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