A
New Strategy of ‘Maneuvers’ for Life’s Pathways Yes,
the holidays are approaching. Some
rituals like the World Series, Halloween and Election Day have recently
passed in no order of importance, but we are fast-approaching a line-up of
others that will take our attention. I
would like to share with you three recently published books that have
garnered my attention. These books are filled with advice that not only
will get me through the next two months but also help me along my journey
as I maneuver through the last quarter of my life. Yes, I consider the
current path I am on a series of maneuvers. I am
heeding the advice I am finding on the pages of the following books:
“Daily Rituals: How Artists Work” by Mason Currey;
“Happy Money: the Science of Smarter Spending” by Elizabeth
Dunn and Michael Norton; and “The One-Day Contract: How to Add Value to
Every Minute of Your Life” by Rick Pitino with Eric Crawford. These
books offer advice that, in essence, may bring meaning and less stress to
your life. Let’s
begin with “Daily Rituals;” for here is a book I really can relate to.
I like to consider myself a creative, productive person whose life has
many hills and valleys. Recently, however, I seem to becoming more stuck
in the valley. In his book,
Currey writes about “the circumstances of creative activity, not the
product; it deals with manufacturing rather than meaning.” He addresses
the question: “How do you do meaningful creative work while also earning
a living?” He focusses on the routines of 161 inspired, and inspiring
minds – among them, novelists, poets, playwrights, painters,
philosophers, scientists and mathematicians. He writes about these
artists’ daily routines – quirky, in many instances, that afforded
them the opportunity to do their best work.
Currey says he “wanted to show how grand creative visions
translate to small daily increments; how one’s working habits influence
the work itself, and vice versa.” I
found similarities between Currey’s approach to creativity and Dunn and
Norton’s approach in discussing money and how we spend it. They show
that it’s not the amount of money one has that brings happiness, but how
you spend money. They offer five principles:
Buy Experience. Material things provide less happiness than
experiential purchases, such as taking a trip or attending a concerts;
Make it a Treat. In other words, limit access to things one likes best;
Buy time. That is, look at a purchase in terms of how much time it may
save you; Pay Now, Consume Later. People are less prone to overspending
when they pay up front; Invest in Others.
Typically, the idea here is that it is better to give than to
receive. University
of Louisville’s basketball coach Pitino draws upon his own long-time
coaching career and personal joys and and sorrows to offer advice in
approaching each day as if you had a “one-day contract.” He notes that
often in sports when people have long-term contracts they often do their
best in the last year of the contract.
“…if you’re always at your best toward the end of your
contract, why not try to create a situation where you can capture that
mentality all the time?” Pitino
offers a variety of advice in how to hold on to the mentality that
produces an individual’s best. He
talks about the importance of humility and admits that he was not “the
picture of humility” for much of his career. H He talks about
keeping your focus, not necessarily on yourself, but on the team of people
you may work with and on the work that needs to be achieved. Another
important aspect is to keep technology in perspective and not have
technology rule your life. While it can be a useful tool, technology can
also be a distraction. Pitino
also addresses the importance of “meaningful distractions” and he
says, sports is an example of a meaningful distraction. Owning a stake in
a race horse, Goldencents is his meaningful distraction. The horse ran in
this year’s Kentucky Derby. I
agree with Pitino that sports can be a meaningful distraction as witnessed
last week with the battle between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston
Red Sox. However, the
distraction is temporary and ultimately I would rather
heed Currey’s advice when he says, “A solid routine fosters a
well-worn groove for one’s mental energies and helps stave off the
tyranny of moods.” In
reflecting upon his own research for the book, Currey quotes from a 1941
essay by V.S. Pritchett who was writing about English Historian Edward
Gibbon: Quoting Currey,
“Pritchett writes, ‘the great men turn out to be all alike. They never
stop working. They never lost a minute. It is very depressing.’” |
© Copyright 2013 Rita Papazian All rights reserved.