What do I (you) desire?
Every quote in this post, unless attributed otherwise, is from Alan Watts popular snippet - ‘What if Money Was No Object’. Vocal snippet is embedded for anyone who wants to hear it (end of post)
I do this often in vocational guidance of students, they come to me and say, well, "we’re getting out of college and we have the faintest idea what we want to do". So I always ask the question, "what would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life?"
As a child, I remember being asked this question by uncles, aunts, neighbors and teachers with the exception of 'if money were no object'.
If you observe this conversation between adults and children, the common outcome is either an agreement because the child says he wants to be a doctor or engineer. Disagreement if the answer is something in the field of arts or anything relatively unheard of.
Why?
Because 'money is the object'.
“Well, it’s so amazing as a result of our kind of educational system, crowds of students say well, we’d like to be painters, we’d like to be poets, we’d like to be writers, but as everybody knows you can’t earn any money that way.”
As a result of our kind educational system, societal acceptance of the same, and upbringing that stresses on jobs that 'pay well'.
I find it fitting to write this on November 14 because kids, even adults should pursue things they genuinely love, so that they can be good at it. If kids don't know what they love, we, as adults need to help them find it not refrain them.
As for us, who are past that stage of a fresh canvas, a life beyond the monotony of repetition and loathing 9 to 5s and mundane Mondays, the best we can do is encourage ourselves and those around us to reignite our lost calling.
Common excuses would be " I don't have time" or "I don't think it matters at this age".
If I give myself even 5 years to pursue something, at the age of 31 I can achieve a certain level of proficiency. At the age of 31, if I didn’t start now, I’d look back in anger.
If you're 40, then 45. Heck, if you're 60, then 65.
There is really no excuse to not pursue something you truly love if you have the time and resources for it. As, I've written before, I’ll be miffed if I spend my dying hours with this regret.
As Watts further goes on to say,
Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way. And after all, if you do really like what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter what it is, you can eventually turn it – you could eventually become a master of it. It’s the only way to become a master of something, to be really with it. And then you’ll be able to get a good fee for whatever it is.
As adults who can think (and should be thinking) better, it is on us to deviate from the loop of doing things for money. This is not to say that one doesn't have financial responsibilities.
When you become good at something, your service is worth a fee. Like anything we do, it is hard work. Wouldn’t you feel better with late hours of hard work on something you made on your own? As opposed to, lets say working on a spreadsheet 🙂.
Time isn’t unlimited. It’s limited and the best we can do is use it for the things that matter.
See what we are doing, is we’re bringing up children and educating to live the same sort of lives we are living. In order that they may justify themselves and find satisfaction in life by bringing up their children to bring up their children to do the same thing, so it’s all retch and no vomit. It never gets there. And so, therefore, it’s so important to consider this question: What do I desire?
So, What do I (you) desire?
Well, that’s a question that takes time. So it’s important that you spend time pondering, wondering, experimenting and attempting. The answer to this question isn’t found in what we work. It requires us to get out of our job titles, convert ourselves into real people and ask the question over, and over again.
What do I desire?
You can listen to the entire speech below.