Do you remember a post in February where I wondered about the road ahead?
Well it is a couple of months down the line, and I still have not really gained a clear idea of where I am going with my life. Which is screwy because I have always been quite sure what I wanted and just went about doing it. So it is a bit wierd to be a bit directionless right now. Do I still want a UN type of job? I dunno because what I have seen so far of the UN is just bloody downright depressing. All that optimistic energy and resources squandered on administrative bullshit shaded in light blue colours.
Good quote from Prof Posner in the the becker posner blog :
"As John Stuart Mill pointed out in On Liberty, when one's ideas are not challenged, one's ability to defend them weakens. Not being pressed to come up with arguments or evidence to support them, one forgets the arguments and fails to obtain the evidence."
I spend a great deal of time examining my personal motivations to make money, or learn about new stuff, or be actually useful to somebody else (not a lawyer then!). I have started asking myself whether I really want to be a lawyer still - maybe I had good reasons to do so before, but perhaps they are no longer applicable now.
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5 comments:
On the being a lawyer side, there is an important difference between (contributing to) making a positive difference and being a superhero.
You can't be the latter so chuck expectations like that out of the window. The people who really achieve things are those with longer-term views and the discipline to carry on even when things are not producing quick-fix results. You can't do that if you see the day-to-day work as depressing.
Politically-driven organisations are bureaucratic by nature, but many are improving over time. They appear more bureaucratic from the outside
than they do from the inside because there are good reasons why the organisation has to discus any significant ideas with 101 disparate
"stakeholders". That is part of the business because brokering agreements between previously deadlocked parties is what they do, not something that gets in the way of what they do.
Food for thought hopefully.
Ed
Good ol' Eddie who will always provide the calm voice of reason. I disagree that brokering agreements is what political organisations do though. Everyone agrees that for example reducing greenhouse emissions is a good thing. The problem is that in practice everyone has a different idea of what that means, and whilst they bicker over the Kyoto Protocol and other nonsense, there is a end result is an exercise in futility, otherwise known as EEFA (Energy Expended Fu*k-all Achieved)
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Having spent the better part of 6 years as a small cog in the machinery that is the Singapore judicial system led me to the conclusion that it was very much an EEFA driven system (I love that term!), and it was only a matter of time before the system drove me nuts. As such, I refused to have any further part of the farce, and my life has been so much better because of it.
Ed is right that we need to draw a distinction between saving the world, and making a difference. I'm not saying you can't do one or the other or both as a lawyer, but we all find our own niches and contribute to society in our own little ways. Some of us help little old ladies across the street while others aspire to be the next Mother Theresa. Both are just as noble, as long as there is EESGA (Enery Expended, some good achieved). You know my story; I'm sure someone has plans for you too!
Glad you had some time to think about what you wanna do. I often think the same things - like do I still wanna be a singer? What do I really want? Honestly, I still don't know, but at least we're at the point where we are aware of it and are exploring more options.
It's all about doing what you love and then using that to do more for society / the world. At least in doing something that you wanna do, you're not being another miserable soul in the world who hates her job. We all contribute to the world in our own little way. It just depends on how big a splash your ego requires. :)
BTW, don't worry about the exam - call / email me if you need any help (assuming i can remember my econs from Uni).
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