Not Knowing
March 29, 2007As a consequence of implementing GTD this year–and largely sorting out my inbox–I’ve been reflecting quite a lot on some of my mid-to-long term goals. And this post inspired me to commit some of my thoughts here.
As regular readers would know by now, I’ve always had difficulty defining exactly what it is I do and more and more my blog seems to reflect the whole ‘generalist’ meme.
What is probably not as evident, but which is nevertheless just as important to me is the perennial question: what it is I want to do?
The challenge that being a ‘generalist’ brings with it is the difficulty of choice. How can I define something if I don’t know what I want? And as Pick the Brain puts it … “reality is complicated” and I don’t want to commit too soon.
There is a school of thought that says at some point you must decide, or otherwise ‘fail’. I’ve been counselled on a number of occasions from respected friends and mentors that at some point in time, I will have to choose a specific path to follow (read: to specialise?).
In his book Zen and the Art of Making a Living, Laurence G. Boldt cleaverly presents a system of four archetypes designed to help one tap into universal energies to re-write the script of your life. The Hero represents the Seeker of the Grail-The Decider of Roads. He suggests that “… to chose a life direction is the Hero’s greatest choice.”
Now on the surface this seems to indicate that one needs to make a clear decision, but is this necessarily so?:
The Hero is comfortable with not knowing, and yet he/she is not willing to tolerate confusion. His comfort with not knowing gets him going on the Quest; his unwillingness to tolerate confusion keeps the Hero going until he/she arrives at answers that are true for him/her.
There is one thing that is clear — I don’t, and never will, fit neatly into a predefined path. And as Pick the Brain puts it “maybe the most interesting people follow a path all their own.” It’s all about the journey, not the destination!
March 29th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Great post, Daryl. I really enjoyed the passage about the Hero, and I can identify with it. For all my writing about the need for specific goals, I haven’t totally committed to a path myself. Waiting gives you the opportunity to learn about yourself. I’m hoping that as I discover what I was meant to do, finding a way to make a living at it won’t be too difficult.
April 4th, 2007 at 8:18 am
Thanks for your comments and kind words John. Your post provided me with the spark that I needed to get this one out of my head (where it had been for a while) and into the ether — so I guess in part it is a joint effort! The search continues for me too. Good luck with your own quest … enjoy the journey.
January 5th, 2008 at 2:15 am
I agree with your post, even though I went to college and have a degree I still feel like I am not doing what I am destined to do…I am sure we will all figure it out when the time is right…and know it in our hearts.