Have you ever received a piece of advice so profound and so ground-breaking that it shakes you to your very core?
Sometimes, it’s the simplest idea in the world, but you’ve just been too caught up in your day-to-day worries to see the big picture. Other times, it’s a thought that you’ve grasped the edges of, but have never been able to put into words.
In this case, it’s a bit of both. The late Alan Watts, a famed Zen philosopher and academic of the '50s and '60s, had an unusually clear-eyed way of seeing the world, and his message is clear: Do what you want to do.
More specifically, do what you want to do as if money were no object, and as if money was not the objective. It’s essentially a variation on the same advice that many of us have been subconsciously giving ourselves for years.
Instead of feeling bogged down by the expectations of parents, spouses, colleagues, and college advisors, each individual should just ask him or herself one question: What do I want to spend my time doing?
It might be playing video games or making baskets or raising Irish Wolfhounds. Whatever it is, Watts thinks you should pursue it.
His argument is best summed up by this thesis statement: “Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way.”
At the end of the day, Watts believes that you should start by doing what you love. The rest of the pieces will fall into place.
If this wise advice came along at just the right time in your life, please SHARE on Facebook to help your friends find their paths, too!
