Improvement

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? – Robert Browning

This quote troubles me a little. Now that I think about it, I’m not certain that I should include it in the blog. There are two sides to it, or rather one side that continues on longer that I would want.

Trying for something you want, something you don’t have currently – whether that be a thing or a situation or a circumstance – is a good thing. However, never being satisfied with what you have is a bad thing. Improving your life until you are content is one thing. Never being content is another.

Your life (most likely) could be better, and improving your life, going beyond your comfort zone, trying new things, are all wonderful things to get that life that you deserve. But, if enough is never enough, then you are in store for a whole lot of misery. So where do you stop? When is enough enough?

That’s not a question anyone can answer except for you, though there are plenty of people who will do their best to answer it for you. People who want you to stay on the rat race, people who think that you’re getting too big for your britches, people who don’t want you to succeed more than they do – all of these people will tell you when it’s time to stop and when it’s time to keep going. That doesn’t mean that they’re answers are the right ones for you.

On the other hand, your family may have a legitimate observation or two. If you’re working 80 hour weeks to provide for a family who already has enough, then they may call you on it. If you’re headed for burn out, or if you are spurning your former friends because they don’t have as shiny a car as you do now, or if you’re becoming a jerk, then hopefully someone will call you on it. And hopefully you’ll listen.

Listen, when someone says to you “reach” or “be content”, but listen to the “why” behind it. Why are they telling you that? Don’t assume that because they say so that it’s automatically right or automatically wrong. But take the time to make a quick check of your own feelings on the matter. Do you have enough? Should you try for more? Decide for yourself. It’s your life.