Day 562 - Caring about the wrong things - https://golifelog.com/posts/caring-about-the-wrong-things-1657933379145
Sam Harris on the meaning of life, to sad guitar music (https://youtu.be/srxDtefn740):
"One thing people tend to realize is that they wasted a lot of time when life was normal. It’s not just what they it’s not just what they did with their time; it’s not just that they spent too much time working or compulsively checking email. It’s that they cared about, the wrong things. They regret what they cared about. Their attention was bound up in petty concerns a year after year when life was normal… We all know this epiphany is coming… The horror is that we succeed - we managed to never really connect with the present moment and find fulfilment there."
Damn. Daaaaaamn. This was so good. I needed this. The emotive soundtrack behind the speech hit the spot for sure.
It really got me thinking:
Am I caring about the wrong things?
In work and career.
In family and relationships.
In health and wellness.
In life in general.
How would I know?
In most cases, you would know when say, a loved one dies, or some huge crisis happens. I don’t want to need those events to be able to reflect on it. It might be too late by then. I want to avoid the horror of succeeding in never having that epiphany until it’s too late.
How can I know if I’m caring about the wrong things, right now?
Some ideas:
• Intuition. Something feels off in life or whatever area you’re thinking. You’re not feeling the most aligned, congruent and on board with it. With how things are unfolding. A nagging suspicion things can be better.
• I’m not getting results I want. Data and feedback is showing that no matter how hard I work, it isn’t working. I could be doing it wrong, or I should be doing something else - in which case I should either change my approach, or switch games entirely.
• When was last time I felt joyful and happy? Truly happy. Not the kind of happy where you feel a peak but momentary elation of achieving a goal, but that sweet, deep, lingering aftertaste from doing, from the process. What are the things that give me that kind of goalless joy now?
Ultimately, it all seems to point back to mindfulness, awareness, presence.
When I’m mindful, when I’m embodied in my body, when I’m present to everything inwards and outwards. That’s when I can know with a higher probability if I’m caring about the wrong things.
The present moment contains the truth of whether what we care about is right or wrong.
"One thing people tend to realize is that they wasted a lot of time when life was normal. It’s not just what they it’s not just what they did with their time; it’s not just that they spent too much time working or compulsively checking email. It’s that they cared about, the wrong things. They regret what they cared about. Their attention was bound up in petty concerns a year after year when life was normal… We all know this epiphany is coming… The horror is that we succeed - we managed to never really connect with the present moment and find fulfilment there."
Damn. Daaaaaamn. This was so good. I needed this. The emotive soundtrack behind the speech hit the spot for sure.
It really got me thinking:
Am I caring about the wrong things?
In work and career.
In family and relationships.
In health and wellness.
In life in general.
How would I know?
In most cases, you would know when say, a loved one dies, or some huge crisis happens. I don’t want to need those events to be able to reflect on it. It might be too late by then. I want to avoid the horror of succeeding in never having that epiphany until it’s too late.
How can I know if I’m caring about the wrong things, right now?
Some ideas:
• Intuition. Something feels off in life or whatever area you’re thinking. You’re not feeling the most aligned, congruent and on board with it. With how things are unfolding. A nagging suspicion things can be better.
• I’m not getting results I want. Data and feedback is showing that no matter how hard I work, it isn’t working. I could be doing it wrong, or I should be doing something else - in which case I should either change my approach, or switch games entirely.
• When was last time I felt joyful and happy? Truly happy. Not the kind of happy where you feel a peak but momentary elation of achieving a goal, but that sweet, deep, lingering aftertaste from doing, from the process. What are the things that give me that kind of goalless joy now?
Ultimately, it all seems to point back to mindfulness, awareness, presence.
When I’m mindful, when I’m embodied in my body, when I’m present to everything inwards and outwards. That’s when I can know with a higher probability if I’m caring about the wrong things.
The present moment contains the truth of whether what we care about is right or wrong.