Additional Life Philosophies

In college a friend enlightened me to three approaches to life. The methods in question included Don't Care, Be Autonomous, and Acknowledge That Everyone's a Critic. These ideas formed a good foundation for me. I've applied them to numerous situations and found them helping me navigate through them on my terms. Over the years, I've encountered three additional ideas to handling challenges over the years. I'll share them now.

First, seek your place and don’t be afraid to adjust unconventionally until you find it. When a career in public education became unworkable, I launched headfirst into trying to become an archivist. When it became clear that the positions required nepotism and academic groupthink, I rerouted into a medical records career. Will I stay in this path ten years from now? I'm not sure. I sense a number of unconventional adjustments over my life.

Next, if something seems wrong, it is; fix the problem before it gets worse. When I worked as a contractor I was under the impression that my company would help me grow professionally. When it became clear they only viewed me as spare parts, I thought I could work my way out. Instead, my issues there reached a boiling point, and I was let go. In those circumstances, I should have walked out on them, opting for a hard reroute. Instead, I overstayed my welcome in an attempt to make my situation winnable. We're not always like Captain Kirk taking the Kobayashi Maru. Many obstacles are insurmountable, becoming completely unwinnable.

Finally, don’t let the haters get in your way and stop you; use their criticism to your advantage and reset when necessary. This is a further extension of acknowledging that everyone's a critic. It's very easy to become embittered from people lying to you and screwing you over. The corporate sector values profit over employee well-being. The academic sector values ego over productive work. If the system doesn't work for you, leave that system. Adjusting is like rolling up a new character in D&D. It's a struggle to get up to your group's level, but succeeding in controlling your own destiny makes it worthwhile.

I hope these philosophies help you out. At the very least, I hope it sparks new ideas. We've all been stuck in ruts. These are just some small ideas for escaping those ruts. Life is a struggle, and we're all in this together.

- Andy Out