I have many
theories on life.
OK, I put
that bluntly, but no reason not to just jump right into it. Everyone attempts to understand the world,
and their place in it, in their own ways.
Every person in the world is trying to figure out how to navigate their
way through their day to day (week to week, month to month, etc.) lives. People do this by excessive scheduling, or through
religion, or sometimes by just blindly jumping in with both feet and hoping it
all works out.
I’m not here
to try and judge what methods work better than others, that’s impossible and
varies by person. Today, I want to talk
about me (I know…surprise, surprise), and how I have come to figure out things
about life. I make and follow theories. Theories is actually the wrong word…it’s more
like little life philosophies…little rules to live by, if you will. I’ve always titled them as Theories, though,
so we’ll stick with that.
My theories
cover many subjects. Some minute
(Patrick’s Theory of Hiking Hills), and some on a grander scale (Patrick’s
Meaning of Life). However, when cobbled
together, they seem to form the fabric of how I like to try and live my
life. Today I wish to present to you a
few of my theories on life…both for your education and amusement. Enjoy!
Patrick’s Theory of Hiking Hills: Let’s start off small. This is a theory that covers something very
specific, and has only come up in the last few months…but implies something much
larger. The theory is simple… “When
hiking uphill, it’s best to get it over with as quickly as possible! Why prolong the pain?” If you’ve been hiking with me in the last few
months, it’s entirely possible that you’ve seen me running up a hill instead of
walking up it during a hike. Obviously I
can do this because I am in decent shape, but really, I just don’t see the
point in trudging uphill endlessly. Why
not just get it over with? I guess this
can apply to everything in life. There
will be uphill parts of my life…parts that are pretty shitty. Why wallow in them? Sprint to the end and get to the good parts
on the other side! And if you burn a few
extra calories on the way, all the better!
Patrick’s Theory on Home Ownership: Since I graduated college, I’ve been told by
so many people “save money, buy a house, you have to do this now.” Um, thanks for the advice, but for now, I’m
passing. Listen, I have nothing against
owning a house. Eventually, I want a
home for a family and whatnot. But right
now, at this point in my life, I prefer my mobility. Besides the fact that at my current job, I
couldn’t even afford mortgage payments on a cardboard box, I just don’t like
the idea of being tied down to a long term living situation. What if I need to move? What if I get a new job across the
country? Especially with the way the
housing market has been, I’d be screwed!
Presently, I’d just have to figure out a way to deal with a few months
rent, and could easily be mobile. Much
better situation overall. This theory if
more of a present day situation theory, rather than a catch all, life theory.
Patrick’s Theory on Change: Change is terrifying, but also
necessary. Most of the time it requires
an extreme will power to follow through…and most people do not have it. I do now (not in the past, but I’ve grown
into it), and I am forever grateful for that.
Patrick’s Theory on Boredom: Boredom is the worst thing in the world, and
something to be avoided at all cost. To
this end, I tend to overbook myself whenever possible. I mean, ideally I’d perfectly book myself,
but that’s not always possible. However,
I’ve been getting myself into trouble lately with being overbooked, in that is
made it rather impossible to have free time for “oh, we should do something
this week” kinds of things. It’s also
made dating difficult, as planning around my ridiculous schedule seems to be a
hassle that grinds things to a halt. I
like to be busy, but when I am busy, I tend to focus in on what is already
planned, and other things can slide. Not
conducive to meeting and building relationships with new people. I’m working on it, though! Change is terrifying…so is boredom. A careful balance between free time for open
planning and a very busy schedule is necessary to allow for change in the day
to day and week to week schedule of life.
At least, that seems to be what I’m finding. Maybe I just need to be a better planner and
schedule keeper.
Patrick’s Theory on Work: Many people claim that one of the most
important things in the world is to love your job. Personally, I’d back off on that, and say I’m
content not hating my job. I’m neutral
about my job…however, it pays the bills and allows me to do the things I really
love…which are all outside of work.
Namely, it allows me to travel, and see my friends, and run in races,
and do cool things. I lead a very active
life outside of work…and its only possible because I have a job…one that pays
me money and lets me keep my own hours (I work 7-3 or 4…depending on lunch
break…which leaves me plenty of post-work time for awesomeness!). I may not love my job, but I love my life…and
that’s really the important key.
I think that’s
enough theories for now. I have much
grander, far reaching theories about politics, god, the supernatural, and life
in general that are more personal to me and not once I wish to get into a big
public debate over. And I have little
nuanced theories about day to day activities.
This is just a sampling of how I choose to deal with the task of
navigating through life, and getting as much out of it as possible.
If anyone
cares to chime in…do you have any theories about living your own life? Any strategies for making sure you get the
most out of it? Whatever it is, I’d love
to hear it!
Cheers!
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