Επιτρέψτε μου ένα ποστ εν Αγγλιστί. Έννεν καν δικό μου. Εδιάβασα το στο τεύχος Οκτωβρίου του the Actuary. Της Jessica Elkin
When I’m visiting my parents of a weekend, I usually have a
glance through their Sunday paper. It’s not my favourite – not enough puzzles,
for starters – but I like to skim the supplements for easily digestible,
content light, autobiographical columns that I dutifully read. Intellectual
that I am. (It’s research like this, reader, that has helped me hone my skills
for the student page.) One such column is by a woman around my age who writes
about her love life. Think Carrie Bradshaw, but less annoying, with fewer “I
couldn’t help but wonder”s. It’s very readable, if not especially educational;
the last one I read was about getting drunk and going on Tinder. It wasn’t a
long column, about half a page, and I surveyed it with curiosity and something
bordering on jealousy. I couldn’t help but wonder how she’s managed to land
such a cushy deal. Why couldn’t I do that, I thought? Why don’t I get paid to
write pulp non-fiction for Sunday lazing and poolside entertainment? It seemed
deeply unfair. Mostly she writes fluff about failed romantic pursuits – hah!
Like we don’t all have plenty of material for
that.
Where there’s a will
The thing is, I could be doing that.Or at
least, I could be trying to do that. The fact of the matter is, I can count on
no hands the number of articles I’ve sent to any non-actuarial publication for
consideration, unless of course you count that letter I got published in The
Times in 2010. I am still dining out on that particular victory. I’m sure this
other writer outdid me in her efforts to reach the dizzy heights of
supplement-padding fame. So to answer the question of why I’m not a paid column
writer, the crux of the matter is that I don’t want to be. Not really. If I
wanted to do it then I would research what’s currently out there in different
publications, come up with my own unique spin, write some samples, and submit
them for consideration. Repeat ad nauseum until success.
There’s a great article by Mark Manson called The Most
Important Question Of Your Life, in which he writes about the difference between actually
wanting something and just enjoying the dream of it. “If you want the benefits
of something in life,” he says, “you have to also want the costs. If you want
the beach body, you have to want the sweat, the soreness, the early mornings,
and the hunger pangs. If you want the yacht, you have to also want the late
nights, the risky business moves, and the possibility of annoying a person or
ten thousand.” Otherwise, he says, you don’t want it at all. You just enjoy the
fantasy. (This is possibly why I don’t have the beach body or the yacht.)
Job application
I’ve been considering the application of this
concept both to life in general, and to work. There’s a partner at my firm who
has enjoyed a particularly impressive, and enviable, career trajectory. I
discussed this with a different partner. He told me that, as he saw it, the
reason for the first guy’s success was that he “didn’t ask permission”. This
has since stuck with me.
I’m not saying he just scribbled ‘partner’ on
his business cards and edited his email signature. It’s that when he wanted to
do something professionally, he grabbed the bull by the horns and went right
ahead. We’re not all naturally possessed of that sort of boldness, but we could
force it. ‘Fake it till you make it,’ as they say. Or, as Brad Pitt says in his
appalling turn as Achilles in Troy: "TAKE IT, IT'S YOURS!"
Actuaries don’t lack enthusiasm. We have it in
spades. But diffidence is also in abundance.
Socrates is often misquoted as having said
that true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing. That may be so, and
actuaries are pretty wise, but that attitude is not going to get you anywhere
in life.
What I am saying boils down to:work out what
you want, and then go out and get it.
Now I only have to follow my own advice. Easy,
right?
