What Am I Doing with My Life? by Stephen Law

Author:Stephen Law
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473567931
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

23. When will my life begin?

▸ Result

Many of us feel we’re stalled on the hard shoulder of life, watching in frustration as others whizz past towards their chosen destinations. We just can’t seem to get anywhere. This feeling can be particularly acute around New Year. Another year has passed and what progress have I made? Perhaps very little. We may try to kick-start things by making New Year resolutions, insisting that this year, we really, really, really are going to start getting fit, get a new qualification, find a life partner, or get that better job. Yet we often grind to a halt again.

So, what’s the secret to getting things moving?

Perhaps we need to focus on developing better habits. According to the American philosopher and psychologist William James (1842–1910), the secret to forming good character does not lie in forming the right sentiments or intentions: ‘With mere good intentions, hell is proverbially paved.’ No matter how sincere and passionate you may be right now, merely telling yourself ‘This year I am definitely, absolutely going to … ’ is unlikely to have much effect. James thought that the key to success lies instead in developing good habits, and he illustrates the power of habit with an anecdote:

There is a story, which is credible enough, though it may not be true, of a practical joker, who, seeing a discharged veteran carrying home his dinner, suddenly called out, ‘Attention!’ whereupon the man instantly brought his hands down, and lost his mutton and potatoes in the gutter. The drill had been thorough, and its effects had become embodied in the man’s nervous system.1

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.