Rain, Rain...

What else is a rainy day good for besides catching up on homework, doing the dishes, doing laundry, or cooking a good meal? If you're me, it's good for all of those things.  It also fosters too much time to think. 

I was reading a very interesting article for my auditing class today.  It basically talks about how college graduates these days are encouraged to find themselves and pursue a life as an individual.  The author goes on to say that while we constantly hear those things and are made to believe that individualism and independence are important, we are thrown out into a world that says otherwise. This is the last paragraph of the article:

"Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life.

But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center.

Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly.

Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. 

The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself."

I found this very compelling, and it really hit home for me. I'm at a really scary point in my life where I'm about to make a lot of life-changing decisions.  I've always been ambitious and set high goals for myself because I know I can do whatever I put my mind to. Recently, that trait has been tested by several people. I've been told that my lack of experience would hurt me in the long run and that my profession is boring, among other things. For those who don't know, I have a huge fear of failure--it's a bigger fear than most anything else in this world. But after reading that article it became really clear to me that it doesn't really matter where I end up or how much money I make or what kind of car I drive or how big my house is. At the end of my life, people won't appreciate those things--they'll appreciate what I did for them and how I helped them. I may not be the most experienced person and my job may not be the most exciting, but at the end of the day, it's your attitude toward the situation that determines the outcome. All I know is that when it comes to my career, I just want to make something better than how I found it and inspire people to do their best no matter the circumstances. I always try to give 100%--as the article says, I lose myself in everything I do--and I can only hope that my example becomes the center of my life. 

I think the rain has finally stopped for the first time today.  I think it's only fitting that my late-night rambling stops too.  Have to update you on the game later. Goodnight!