Set your sights on being generally satisfied and generally happy, not on expecting every aspect of life to be perfect. Complete satisfaction does not exist because everything can be improved upon.
Those who accept this can appreciate what they have. Those who do not accept this can never appreciate what they have even as their circumstances improve. Strive to improve. Don't try to be perfect.
"Golf," according to Mark Twain, "is a good walk spoiled."
Golf is perhaps the most frustrating of all games. It seems so simple. A white ball—stationary, for goodness' sake! You swing a club, the ball flies, you walk to the ball, and you do it again. The problem with hitting a golf ball is that because it requires an almost infinite series of body contortions, club movements, and angles, it always results in a less than perfect shot. If you listen to people who play golf for fun, you will hear them say, "Just let me get one birdie. Just one birdie and I will be happy." A birdie is the score you get when you hit the ball in the hole in one less shot than it would take the average professional to do it. And do you know what happens when they get that first birdie? They say, "Just one more birdie." Every improvement in their game is inexorably followed by the demand for further improvement.
Golf equipment makers know that players are so desperate they will try to buy their way to improvement. As one manufacturer explained, "You'll never run out of things to sell a golfer. Golfers would buy a swing if they could, especially if it would let them hit the ball straight and toward the target every time." But they can never, ever reach perfection. That's right, even professional golfers spend their entire careers hitting less than perfect shots.
Moral:
Those who believe they will fail to achieve their goals are unhappy, but so too are those who believe they will exactly meet their goals. Those who are happiest believe they will meet some of their goals and will receive satisfaction from multiple aspects of their lives.
Those who accept this can appreciate what they have. Those who do not accept this can never appreciate what they have even as their circumstances improve. Strive to improve. Don't try to be perfect.
"Golf," according to Mark Twain, "is a good walk spoiled."
Golf is perhaps the most frustrating of all games. It seems so simple. A white ball—stationary, for goodness' sake! You swing a club, the ball flies, you walk to the ball, and you do it again. The problem with hitting a golf ball is that because it requires an almost infinite series of body contortions, club movements, and angles, it always results in a less than perfect shot. If you listen to people who play golf for fun, you will hear them say, "Just let me get one birdie. Just one birdie and I will be happy." A birdie is the score you get when you hit the ball in the hole in one less shot than it would take the average professional to do it. And do you know what happens when they get that first birdie? They say, "Just one more birdie." Every improvement in their game is inexorably followed by the demand for further improvement.
Golf equipment makers know that players are so desperate they will try to buy their way to improvement. As one manufacturer explained, "You'll never run out of things to sell a golfer. Golfers would buy a swing if they could, especially if it would let them hit the ball straight and toward the target every time." But they can never, ever reach perfection. That's right, even professional golfers spend their entire careers hitting less than perfect shots.
Moral:
Those who believe they will fail to achieve their goals are unhappy, but so too are those who believe they will exactly meet their goals. Those who are happiest believe they will meet some of their goals and will receive satisfaction from multiple aspects of their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment