Now where did I leave that phone booth? ;)
This past weekend I was asked a question which has been asked of me before and I think does deserve an answer. Why do I like Science-Fiction, Time Travel and comic books? It’s a legitimate question and I think one that I finally am able to answer. Because it’s better than what we have.
One of the main things in all those topics (for the most part) is a central character trying to make the world (or worlds) a better place. They may not succeed but they try and largely because it’s the right thing to do. This leads to a large part of the frustration that I often feel in my own life. I try to do the right thing and sometimes it blows up in my face, sometimes it doesn’t. I realize that the world is not a black and white environment but there are some things that are clearly right or wrong. It was a few years ago in the winter and I was heading home from work and this young woman was having a difficult time managing her shopping bags coming from the grocery store. I was in no great rush, so I offered to help her carry some of the bags to her apartment not because I thought it would "get me some" but because I saw someone who needed the help. When I was living in Toronto and again when I was living in Calgary one of the things I used to do on pay days would be to stop by McDonalds and pick up a second breakfast and give it to some homeless person along the way to work. These aren’t big things that have far-reaching effects but they were the right thing to do.
The thing of it is that sometimes I hold myself to too high a standard, an unachieveable one and then end up getting frustrated because of it. As opposed to being content with what I have accomplished; I get frustrated about what I could have accomplished. I think this, in part is what led to the breakup of one of my relationships. The woman I was seeing at the time felt that I didn’t have that drive to get ahead and at the time, I agreed with that assessment. In the present, I have revised my opinion. It’s not that I do not have a drive to succeed, it’s that I want to be able to help others succeed as well.
So why don’t I get the girl?
One of the main things in all those topics (for the most part) is a central character trying to make the world (or worlds) a better place. They may not succeed but they try and largely because it’s the right thing to do. This leads to a large part of the frustration that I often feel in my own life. I try to do the right thing and sometimes it blows up in my face, sometimes it doesn’t. I realize that the world is not a black and white environment but there are some things that are clearly right or wrong. It was a few years ago in the winter and I was heading home from work and this young woman was having a difficult time managing her shopping bags coming from the grocery store. I was in no great rush, so I offered to help her carry some of the bags to her apartment not because I thought it would "get me some" but because I saw someone who needed the help. When I was living in Toronto and again when I was living in Calgary one of the things I used to do on pay days would be to stop by McDonalds and pick up a second breakfast and give it to some homeless person along the way to work. These aren’t big things that have far-reaching effects but they were the right thing to do.
The thing of it is that sometimes I hold myself to too high a standard, an unachieveable one and then end up getting frustrated because of it. As opposed to being content with what I have accomplished; I get frustrated about what I could have accomplished. I think this, in part is what led to the breakup of one of my relationships. The woman I was seeing at the time felt that I didn’t have that drive to get ahead and at the time, I agreed with that assessment. In the present, I have revised my opinion. It’s not that I do not have a drive to succeed, it’s that I want to be able to help others succeed as well.
So why don’t I get the girl?
posted by John @ 8:09 AM
1 Comments:
At Tuesday, October 25, 2005 6:45:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
QUOTE "It’s not that I do not have a drive to succeed, it’s that I want to be able to help others succeed as well.
So why don’t I get the girl?" QUOTE
I just wanted to comment on this. Have you heard of the expression "you can't help others if you don't help yourself first"?
If you want to help others succeed as well, you first have to help yourself succeed. Another look at it is, maybe you're trying too hard to "get the girl".
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