Achievement Vs Experience
Written on Thursday, March 29, 2007 by Rohan Koshy
Reading a book opens your mind. Since each book is a reflection of the thoughts of the author each book represents a window into the mind of a great person.
I'm working at my first job and and on the bad days you start to wonder why you're doing it. This is where the conflict between experience and achievement comes in.
As students we all want to achieve great things. We hold the belief that the ideas we are having are the ones that will change the world. Having read about great thinkers and visionaries reinforces that belief. When you get to working you start to realise that the time you spend away from work is very important i.e the your personal life.
This usually is the precursor to the thoughts that are the reason for this post. In the age of hyper achievement how much do you want to achieve and how much do you want to experience in life. Now in no way am i saying you can't have both at the same time but these two are usually at least semi-exclusive. I realise that judging by achievement makes the world a not so happy place. We love the Bill gates and the Micheal Jordans but we also adore those that spend their life travelling and seeing the world. You love it when you win on your own strength but you also love it when you just sit on the sidelines and shout yourself to a sore throat supporting your favourite team.
Living away from home and away from friends and family allows for a "sunlight through a lens" type focus towards your work but doesn't allow you to experience life the way you might otherwise. These of course are thoughts that are fleeting yet each time they leave a small footprint in your head. These footprints get deeper with each "thought instance" until they have a constant presence of your mind. Of course I'm presenting only the negatives but not the the numerous positives like personal growth, new friends and experiencing a cultural richness that is different from your own
The last paragraph was digressing from the topic i realise but it was a practical example of Achievement V Experience. i guess if i can hazard an answer it would be that you have to know yourself well enough to know what trade off your willing to give. In the end it's all about your happiness. One of my roommates has very little desire to spend his life in high pressure jobs (even if they pay a lot). While some time ago, i would have perceived this lack of ambition as disgusting , now I'm at peace with it. He's happy and maybe that's all that matters. He'd rather experience the bliss of a happy family life with holidays and time spent travelling rather then spend nights awake achieving and earning. And i don't blame him.
So make up your mind as to what brings you happiness because not all of us will change the world.
So you can be smart as hell or just stick your tongue out at the whole seriousness of life
