🤯Unknown Unknowns #113 - I’m Getting Too Old For This Shit
You probably don’t remember the old Lethal Weapon movies from the 80’s. One of the main characters, Roger Murtaugh, kept saying, “I'm getting too old for this shit.” The funny thing was, he still did whatever he claimed he was too old to do.
The truth is, you’re rarely too old to do anything. You don’t need to set Olympic records in anything you do, you just need to enjoy what you’re doing.
“Too old for this shit,” is too often used as an excuse not to try something new.
But there are times when “Too old for this shit” is the right response.
“Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one” — Confucius
When you realize you only have one life, you realize that your one life is precious. It’s more precious than the opinions of others. Whenever you hesitate from trying something new because you’re afraid of criticism, just tell yourself, “I'm getting too old for this shit.”
Discoveries:
1️⃣ Simone Stolzoff writes about how non-traditional paths aren’t reserved for iconoclastic rebels. Instead, those paths are populated by people seeking fulfillment.
🔗 In Praise of the Meandering Career
2️⃣ My friend
writes about her path in following her creative energy:In Chinese, we have a term called 問心無愧 (Wen Xin Wu Quei), which means that you ask your heart how it truly thinks of how much effort you have made on something, and you find out you have absolutely no guilt or regret because you have done everything you can, doesn’t matter if you succeed or not. I’m definitely not 問心無愧. Instead, I’m not only 問心有愧 ( (Wen Xin Wu Quei, feeling guilty), but 問心崩潰 ( (Wen Xin Beng Quei, felt so guilty that I crumbled apart).
I know a lot of my resistance comes from fear of not being able to create something good- writing that flows well, painting with harmonious colors, or creating a perfectly symmetrical mandala rock. I would rather spend a week drifting from day to day, thinking I could have used the time to create instead of opening my laptop or picking up my paintbrush. If I don’t create, I never have to risk embarrassing myself.
3️⃣ We’ve all heard of Trophy Wives, but what about Trophy Jobs?
Quote of the Week:
"Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new." - Henry David Thoreau
Write of Passage
The eleventh cohort of Write of Passage is starting next month. Write of Passage was transformational for me because it opened my eyes to a non-traditional path and introduced me to many interesting people, people more concerned with creating than status.
Write of Passage is very expensive, which is why I’m not unconditionally recommending it. They do have a 30-day no-questions-asked guarantee.
Write of Passage is ostensibly a writing course, but that’s actually the last reason I would take it. The people who would most benefit from Write of Passage have a feeling that their life isn’t what they want it to be but can’t see any alternatives. Or they want to meet other people who are facing the same conundrum.
When you take Write of Passage, you’ll learn to express yourself, you’ll find other like-minded people, and you’ll find validation for who you are, rather than conforming to societal norms.
There are a couple of free workshops before the main course where you can try it out for size. One is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12 and the other is next Thursday, Sept 21.
If you’re interested, please use my affiliate link to sign up.
You can find more of my writing at chr.iswong.com.
Questions, suggestions, complaints? Email me at [email protected].
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Leaving you in peace,
Chris
I’d say anyone who lives with integrity is going to need to apply this concept sooner or later, not just professionally but in terms of at least one very important personal relationship: “In Chinese, we have a term called 問心無愧 (Wen Xin Wu Quei), which means that you ask your heart how it truly thinks of how much effort you have made on something, and you find out you have absolutely no guilt or regret because you have done everything you can, doesn’t matter if you succeed or not.”