Getting Ahead

Getting Ahead

Maybe this is just the consequence of getting older (I'm in my late-30s), but I'm increasingly fascinated by the milestone- and timeline-based metrics we use to gauge a person's success in life, particularly since so many of these measures are irrelevant to or unsuitable for our actual ambitions and desires, but they can nonetheless shape how we behave.

These metrics are predicated on norms, and seem almost inevitable because of their pervasiveness.

But it's important to remember these yardsticks vary from place to place, have changed throughout history, and are in no way destiny: the idea that we need to have done certain things, achieved specific professional accolades, and acquired a given amount of wealth by some arbitrary point in our lives are all values we don't have to pay attention to, even if most of the cultural mores and reflexive assumptions swirling around us (in other people, pop culture, etc) will tend to push them on us without a second thought.

I read a piece about how these measurements apply to our 20s, the other day, and I think it's useful because the same general concept extends to whatever age you might find most relevant.

Link to that article: https://catapult.co/stories/the-obsession-with-getting-ahead-in-your-twenties-is-failing-young-people-rainesford-stauffer

—

You can support Aspiring Generalist for the cost of a cup of coffee each month ($3/month) via the link below (which also gives you access to periodic bonus emails) or via Buy Me A Coffee.

You can also choose to support all my work by becoming an Understandary member.