Day 672 - Success in NOT being something vs being something - https://golifelog.com/posts/success-in-not-being-something-vs-being-something-1667430399298
Saw this on my Twitter feed:
“The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely unemployed.” — Emil Cioran via @viziandrei
I love how his success is defined by NOT being something instead of being something.
I mean, most of us set goals the latter way, isn’t it?
I want to be rich.
I want to be healthy.
I want to be happy.
Always phrase it in a positive way, they say, because by telling your brain to not think of a pink elephant you end up thinking of it. And you don’t want the negative outcome by framing your goal in a negative way. But somehow that always felt like an overly simplistic take of the brain to me. Surely there’s a difference between mere mental visualisation versus planning, thinking and acting on something more complex like goals. Surely we can tell the difference, and act accordingly.
And to be honest, I don’t need the positive framing of the goals either.
I don’t need to be rich. I just want to stay out of having a job.
I don’t need to be healthy. I just want to be free from chronic ailments.
I don’t need to be happy. I just don’t want to be bored with life.
So perhaps I can define my own success as NOT being something instead of being something.
Who cares if everyone does it differently…
Here’s the longer version of the Emil Cioran quote for those who are curious:
“I lived exactly the life that I wanted… free, without the constraints of a profession
without petty worries. A dream life, a life brimming with leisure, something unheard of in our times.
I read a lot; I read voraciously, but only what I liked, and when I attempted to write a few books, my work got rewarded because I never ignored my genuine interests and tastes.
The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely
unemployed.
I designed my life quite well. I pretended that it was a failure; but it wasn’t.”
“The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely unemployed.” — Emil Cioran via @viziandrei
I love how his success is defined by NOT being something instead of being something.
I mean, most of us set goals the latter way, isn’t it?
I want to be rich.
I want to be healthy.
I want to be happy.
Always phrase it in a positive way, they say, because by telling your brain to not think of a pink elephant you end up thinking of it. And you don’t want the negative outcome by framing your goal in a negative way. But somehow that always felt like an overly simplistic take of the brain to me. Surely there’s a difference between mere mental visualisation versus planning, thinking and acting on something more complex like goals. Surely we can tell the difference, and act accordingly.
And to be honest, I don’t need the positive framing of the goals either.
I don’t need to be rich. I just want to stay out of having a job.
I don’t need to be healthy. I just want to be free from chronic ailments.
I don’t need to be happy. I just don’t want to be bored with life.
So perhaps I can define my own success as NOT being something instead of being something.
Who cares if everyone does it differently…
Here’s the longer version of the Emil Cioran quote for those who are curious:
“I lived exactly the life that I wanted… free, without the constraints of a profession
without petty worries. A dream life, a life brimming with leisure, something unheard of in our times.
I read a lot; I read voraciously, but only what I liked, and when I attempted to write a few books, my work got rewarded because I never ignored my genuine interests and tastes.
The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely
unemployed.
I designed my life quite well. I pretended that it was a failure; but it wasn’t.”