Isn’t it better to inspire than tear down?
Aug. 3rd, 2018 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareinaToday as I was paging down on FB I saw a poster that had a photo of a famous guitarist with a PhD in Astrophysics whose story I had never heard before, so I asked google about him, and found his story very inspiring: If one has more than one interest one would like to follow, and starts out making time for both of them, but then one becomes so all-consuming that the other needs to be dropped, it is never too late to go back and pick up the other interest and do well with it. Yes, one can be both a rock-star and an academic researcher, if one devotes one self to each dream in turn (and has the good fortune to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right style to be popular (for the music side of it) and the good fortune to be interested in a research topic that hasn’t already been done to death by the time one has a moment to return to it (for the science side of it).
However, much to my disappointment, the poster that drew my attention to this inspiring story made no attempt to be inspiring, or even positive. Instead of reminding us to chase all of our dreams in turn the poster text just “explained” that the reader wasn’t as “cool” as the man in the photo because we would never have exactly his list of accomplishments. Perhaps not, but most of us don’t want exactly that list of accomplishments; we each have our own dreams and interests, and it is much better to pursue our own interests than those of someone else. Some of my friends may occasionally feel bad because they have set aside a project or paused in progress working on a skill while they devote their energies to something else. You know what? It is ok to set aside one thing while you focus on another, and it is also ok to return to it later, perhaps many, many years later and pick it back up. If you do you may find that you are a success in both fields.
For those of you with a habit of “sharing” things on FB, may I make a request? The next time you see a poster that could have been inspiring, but instead just tried to tear folk down, if you have a moment to spare, instead of “sharing” it, could you please edit it, make it positive, and re-release it to the world?
However, much to my disappointment, the poster that drew my attention to this inspiring story made no attempt to be inspiring, or even positive. Instead of reminding us to chase all of our dreams in turn the poster text just “explained” that the reader wasn’t as “cool” as the man in the photo because we would never have exactly his list of accomplishments. Perhaps not, but most of us don’t want exactly that list of accomplishments; we each have our own dreams and interests, and it is much better to pursue our own interests than those of someone else. Some of my friends may occasionally feel bad because they have set aside a project or paused in progress working on a skill while they devote their energies to something else. You know what? It is ok to set aside one thing while you focus on another, and it is also ok to return to it later, perhaps many, many years later and pick it back up. If you do you may find that you are a success in both fields.
For those of you with a habit of “sharing” things on FB, may I make a request? The next time you see a poster that could have been inspiring, but instead just tried to tear folk down, if you have a moment to spare, instead of “sharing” it, could you please edit it, make it positive, and re-release it to the world?
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Date: 2018-08-04 04:57 pm (UTC)And I love Brian May's story. Another one I love is Dexter Holland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Holland) from the band The Offspring. Another example of choose one to pursue but go back to the other when time allows.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-04 09:17 pm (UTC)On the other hand, his story inspires young people interested in music and/or science that you can do both. :) Brian Cox is another ex-rock star/physicist in the UK who equally inspires young people.
Last night, we were watching the Folk Music night of the Proms. One performer, Jarlath Henderson, won the BBC's Young Folk Musician of the Year at age 17. He continued working as a musician; however, after a gap year, he went to university and became a doctor. At age 32, he still works as a doctor and as a musician, somehow combining the two careers. Amazing. Apparently, he goes back and forth between them. I don't think he works full-time in either of them and he has been fortunate to have the support to do both.