level, they’re searching for personal achievement, a way of putting a stamp on their lives. They have no guilt about it, no qualms about setting goals and going balls-out to achieve them.
They aren’t choosing the local triathlon over feeding their kids. At the same time, they know they can’t feed all the world’s starving children, so they aren’t going to worry about it. Would they be better served if they
did
become overwhelmed by the plight of all the starving children in the world, to the point of making themselves depressed and miserable over it?
Conservatives cry, too, but for them all crying is local.
Like any industry, the top of the sports food chain is filled with serious people who have pruned away life’s excess branches at an early age. They’ve found jobs and projects they love, and they’ve set out to create a path they can control to achieve goals that are within reach. They seek the kind of certainty a relentless work ethic can make possible.
And if that means they sacrifice balance along the way, they don’t care. They’ve found something more important: results.
Balance, dare I say it, is vastly overrated.
In the end, you might want to consider the benefits of imbalance, and the achievements that come with pursuing a passion with single-minded devotion.
You can continue to seek balance. By all means, go right aheadand marvel at the balance of your life as you stand over the bean dip at your fourth dinner party this week.
If you can stare into that dip and see the path to the kind of happiness that comes with long days and constant pressure and daily competition, more power to you.
For Adults Only
It’s not one of the world’s more pressing concerns, but if you travel regularly, you know that every major airline has turned the boarding process into one of the more ridiculous events in human history. The whole operation has jumped not only the shark but also the manatees and squid. It’s rapidly making its way through every other living sea creature.
There was a time, lo those many years ago, when people who purchased first-class tickets or had frequent-flier upgrades to first class boarded … well, you know …
first
. Oh, the gimpy octogenarian fresh off hip surgery also got the early invite, but now the rules are completely different. All bets are off.
Now? Now it’s pretty much a free-for-all. Gone are the days of purchasing or earning an early walk down the jetway. Now boarding early is looked upon as the God-given right of anyone who’s had so much as a leg cramp or an ice-cream headache in the past week.
“Anyone with a first-class ticket, people with children, mimes, those who feel a little gassy, women named after months, and people who watched the final episode of
Arrested Development—
all of you are welcome to board early.”
Since children won’t read this book and are the easiest to pick on, can we just start—and end—with them?
Can someone please tell me why six-year-old Amber needs to board first? Does she have a big meeting at Lego to attend? Is there a Disney Princess Convention I’m not aware of?
Look, I’m a proud parent. I’m not antikid by any means. However, that doesn’t mean that responsible and sane adults should encourage children to fly.
Yes, I just said that.
Parents considering taking their young kids on cross-country flights should feel the same way left-handed batters did when facing Randy Johnson in his prime: it’s probably safe, but don’t push your luck.
In other words, when you’re at the plate, lean back, not forward.
It would be dangerous and irresponsible for us to make the childhood flying experience so darned plum-tastic that kids inform other kids. We’d be risking some sort of child revolution that we’d have to battle the rest of our lives.
I’ll tell you what we need to do: we need to make the flying experience fall somewhere between being sent to your room and having to eat all the hideous frozen mixed
They aren’t choosing the local triathlon over feeding their kids. At the same time, they know they can’t feed all the world’s starving children, so they aren’t going to worry about it. Would they be better served if they
did
become overwhelmed by the plight of all the starving children in the world, to the point of making themselves depressed and miserable over it?
Conservatives cry, too, but for them all crying is local.
Like any industry, the top of the sports food chain is filled with serious people who have pruned away life’s excess branches at an early age. They’ve found jobs and projects they love, and they’ve set out to create a path they can control to achieve goals that are within reach. They seek the kind of certainty a relentless work ethic can make possible.
And if that means they sacrifice balance along the way, they don’t care. They’ve found something more important: results.
Balance, dare I say it, is vastly overrated.
In the end, you might want to consider the benefits of imbalance, and the achievements that come with pursuing a passion with single-minded devotion.
You can continue to seek balance. By all means, go right aheadand marvel at the balance of your life as you stand over the bean dip at your fourth dinner party this week.
If you can stare into that dip and see the path to the kind of happiness that comes with long days and constant pressure and daily competition, more power to you.
For Adults Only
It’s not one of the world’s more pressing concerns, but if you travel regularly, you know that every major airline has turned the boarding process into one of the more ridiculous events in human history. The whole operation has jumped not only the shark but also the manatees and squid. It’s rapidly making its way through every other living sea creature.
There was a time, lo those many years ago, when people who purchased first-class tickets or had frequent-flier upgrades to first class boarded … well, you know …
first
. Oh, the gimpy octogenarian fresh off hip surgery also got the early invite, but now the rules are completely different. All bets are off.
Now? Now it’s pretty much a free-for-all. Gone are the days of purchasing or earning an early walk down the jetway. Now boarding early is looked upon as the God-given right of anyone who’s had so much as a leg cramp or an ice-cream headache in the past week.
“Anyone with a first-class ticket, people with children, mimes, those who feel a little gassy, women named after months, and people who watched the final episode of
Arrested Development—
all of you are welcome to board early.”
Since children won’t read this book and are the easiest to pick on, can we just start—and end—with them?
Can someone please tell me why six-year-old Amber needs to board first? Does she have a big meeting at Lego to attend? Is there a Disney Princess Convention I’m not aware of?
Look, I’m a proud parent. I’m not antikid by any means. However, that doesn’t mean that responsible and sane adults should encourage children to fly.
Yes, I just said that.
Parents considering taking their young kids on cross-country flights should feel the same way left-handed batters did when facing Randy Johnson in his prime: it’s probably safe, but don’t push your luck.
In other words, when you’re at the plate, lean back, not forward.
It would be dangerous and irresponsible for us to make the childhood flying experience so darned plum-tastic that kids inform other kids. We’d be risking some sort of child revolution that we’d have to battle the rest of our lives.
I’ll tell you what we need to do: we need to make the flying experience fall somewhere between being sent to your room and having to eat all the hideous frozen mixed
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