There is never enough time in this world. There are so many things I want to do and ideas I want to explore that I get lost in a sea of choices and end up wasting away my precious time on this earth. At this point I have to come to some decisions about where my life is taking me, whether I should be planning to travel or preparing to go back to University, whether I should be starting a new business or exploring more meditative pursuits. I’m lost in a sea of choices and I’m looking for a sail, or at least a compass to guide me in the right direction. I’m afraid if I don’t make a decision then I’ll live to regret my indecision. I don’t know where the sense of urgency is coming from but I still feel it. As always, I’m looking for suggestions.
A common dilemma. At age 63, I look back and ask that cliched to death question: IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER WHAT WOULD I CHANGE? The list would be a mile long..and if I could relive
my life with the changes..then what? At age 63 in my new life….I’d ask the same question……..there are no crystal balls to look into—-a Fortune Cookie is probably as good a source as any.
You can ask your self the question: IF I HAD ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD I REALISTICALLY DO TO OCCUPY MYSELF? The answer could evolve into a reality for your future.
Yes, very common. l wonder about how we come to decions. lt is impossible (physics) to seriously consider the situation before us and figure out what we ‘should’ do. The result of our decisions cannot be known. Also, we are obviously constantly changing. lt seems to me that we cannot objectively make any kind of certain decision. We are always left with the subjectivity.
I agree with Oldcatman that there is little difference in what you decide to do today, you will always look back and wonder about the “The Roads Not Taken.”
I will be 58 in July, and like Oldcatman, there are many thinks I would love to have a “Do Over.” The one thing I can tell you is “First: Do No Harm.” It is not our victories, but our failures, we take to our graves.
I do not know how old you are, and I do not know your financial situation, so it would be folly for me to give you any specific advice, you must decide for yourself what will be best to ensure a future at a level you are comfortable with. How much risk are you comfortable with, and how much risk can you afford.
Getting an education is never a risk, it is an investment in yourself and your future. Though I know quite a few with B.S. degrees who cannot find a job, I do not know of anyone with a PhD that needs to flip burgers to make ends meet.
This is one of my own I wish I could “Do Over.” I was not in a financial situation where I believed I could afford to continue my education and pursue a PhD, but looking back now I realize I had opportunities I did not take. I did not take them because they appeared too difficult at the time. Now I am working a 9 to 5 for the last 35 years that I have grown to hate, but cannot afford to lose. I dream of retiring and writing full time, but I am not certain I will ever be able to afford to. The difficult roads are best taken while you are still strong and able. They will never get easier, only harder.
Then there are a few like the one I just met on line who started his own business and retired a millionaire while still in his thirties. He now writes for pleasure and just published the “Diverse Druids.” I do not belittle his accomplishments at all, but I believe he had the support to afford to take the risk. Risk is best taken by those who can afford to fail. Only you know if you have that kind of support or not.
Then there are those you will tell you ‘if you follow your heart you will never go wrong.’ I cannot tell you if this is true or not. It is one of my “Roads not Taken.”
I’ve got a 9-5 job that I mildly dislike and really has no future, I have a B.S. in Computer Engineering but am thinking about going back to school (to take another discipline or take a masters / PhD), I could start a small company on the side (which it looks like I’m going to be doing with my family) or I can quit it all and become a monk. I would also like to travel again but of course that takes $$ and time.
The business idea is a residential tech support service. It could be profitable, but it will also eat up a lot of my time. Time is such a precious commodity, and it sometimes feels like I’m wasting most of it. Ah well, such is life.
ChefQuix,
I just got on this site for the first time, completely by fluke, and I’m fascinated by your writings on religion and existentialism. Would you mind posting some info of yourself? I’d like to know where you are coming from and hear more of your thoughts.
Dee
Toronto
My problem is that I never appreciate where I am at RIGHT NOW. Remind yourself that life is good, enjoy the day and remember to keep hold of the things that really make you happy. I have never regretted my education. If I have nothing else I can feel good about being conscious of the world around me and being able to appreciate it on that level.
Bruce’s first thought touches on what I have been thinking about as of late. There is a lot of bad things in the world happening to a lot of people. And many times we get caught up with dealing with the consequences of our past decisions or spend great deals of time looking to the future; I tend to forget to live in the present. My life may not be Hollywood movie star quality, but compared to the majority of the world, I live in a great country, go to bed without hunger and can walk down the street freely. I think if I appreciate and be at peace with the now, it will help how I anticipate the later on.
Dee:
There’s lots of posts here about these topics, I suggest you browse the archives if you want to read more about my thoughts on this. Also I suggest you come back because I’m sure I’ll be talking about topics such as this in the future – it’s my bread and butter you might say. As for more information about me, well, I wouldn’t want to remove the mystery you know? I mean would anybody take me seriously if I said I was a 12 year old internet addict, or a middle aged german transvestite prostitute?
bruce & the Kitty:
There’s a fine line between spending all of your time living in the now versus planning for the future. Although I haven’t made up my mind as to what my future path is, I do appreciate the current journey I’m on. I do have many opportunities that others will never have and I am constantly aware of this fact. It makes me want to head to developing countries and try and help them reach the same level of independance that Canada has.
In my mind it is all about balance and the search for finding the right balance. Focus and worry about the future and what ifs and you will miss the now. Live for the day and damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead attitude and you run the risk of jeopardizing the future. Life to me is the search for balance and the experiences I have along the way for that search is what makes life worth living. But that is just me, some guy that calls himself Kitty. Speaking of cat like things, how the hell did this site end up with two dudes with cat references in their screen names….
P.S. Dee, for the record, Chef is really a 20 something metrosexual hair stylist with an eye for a great pair of shoes and wit to match.
Curses kitty, my secret identity revealed!
…………….meow……….
Dear Brad
I guess e ran into each other on some site (as is true with CCK) and you heard I had been a millionaire at age 30. That was a long time ago. I also went on to make something of a fortune one or two times after that. However, I took the ultimate risk and the writing of Diverse Druids comes as I sit in a group home and refuse to participate in the material world.
I refer to this comment of yours above.
Then there are a few like the one I just met on line who started his own business and retired a millionaire while still in his thirties. He now writes for pleasure and just published the “Diverse Druids.” I do not belittle his accomplishments at all, but I believe he had the support to afford to take the risk. Risk is best taken by those who can afford to fail. Only you know if you have that kind of support or not.
I assume your rejection of material posessions was derided by those around you? Or did they accept what you wanted as it was your choice?
Yes, it was rejected by them – they continue to work in the field with my partners and make millions – while I live in abject poverty or worse.
I also freely have helped many people in the ‘Hospitals without Walls’ social system. I became a threat to that system and have been slandered by people who were afraid of what I found out from their children who I helped – it is a long sad story.
Reality is not affected by our apprehension of it.
Long after I wrote books proclaiming the Tarim Basin and Kelts from that region had come to the Americas and were in Ireland very early in their development I find more proof coming in all the time from genetics. The most recent one arrived a week after I started to write this 35th book. This time it has to do with the ‘Y’ Chromosome as we see in this report, “Geneticist Prof Steve Jones says the Welsh and the Irish are among the most homogenous people in the world. He and colleagues at University College, London, have spent years creating a genetic map of the Y chromosome, which is passed by males from generation to generation. The results show that the Welsh are related to the Basques of northern Spain and southern France and to native Americans. All are descended from the Kets people of western Siberia.”
So they can track the movement of people though genetics? Well I guess that makes sense… Do you have a link to this article?
http://www.cybercityradio.com/archives.htm
I hope to have it pared to just my part on World-Mysteries.com soon.
Just move the selector along to about 2/3rds of the bar and you will get my part of the four hour program from July 17th.
http://www.newagetravel.com/