What is satisfaction?

Satisfaction is the feeling of having done something and knowing that we could not have done it better.

Of course, in the same circumstances and with the same information as we had at that time.

Am I satisfied with my career choices right now? Yes. Could I have done it better? Yes. But not if I am in the same situation again with the same thoughts and advice.

In other words, the more permutations and combinations you have in your head, the less satisfied you are going to be. Don't you think?

Enough with the young

A lot of our life today revolves around the media: newspapers, internet, TV. Even chatting with friends is more and more about a movie, a game/match or a blog post. OK, not blog posts.

The media is two things: First, things that hook us, and second, things that target us. News, sports, series, movies, yoga, cartoons, Nat Geo etc. are the things that hook us. Every 5 minutes or so, we are targeted. By advertisements, opinion, religious propaganda, national propaganda, organisational propaganda (Uninor, Google, HP, BP et. al.)

What surprises me is how much of this targeting targets young people. People in the ages of 15 to 25, mostly. If it does not target this age group, it targets people who somehow want to feel like being in this age group. Beauty products, health products, medicines-that-revitalize.

Why the hell is that? Because young people are vulnerable to making uninformed choices. Someone in their 30s or 40s is more likely to have set habits. Maybe that is why Pizza and Coffee shop ads show young people partying at these places.

Additionally, young people are normally moving out. This means they need everything. Need bed? Yes. Need car? Yes. Need microwave? Yes. Need TV? Why not, where else will I get the ads?

Perfection

There is nothing perfect. And it is not a big issue.

The big issue is always trying to pretend that everything is perfect.

All pretend they are perfect. Or sometimes, all pretend that they are in a perfectly bad situation. Its the same.

On the other hand, we can't forego the pursuit of perfection, or excellence. In the worst case, we are donkeys and it is a carrot hanging in front of our noses. Gets things done and all.

The biggest thing, in my opinion is to remember that
1. Perfection is a long term thing, not the next thing I am to do.
2. The only perfect thing to do right now is to do something.
3. Procrastinating for the perfect moment/thing/task is worse than the not-so-perfect I have right now.
4. As long as I am in a better position than yesterday/last week/last month etc., I am doing fine.

There was a book I read a few years back, called To Kill a Mockingbird. It was about racial tolerance in an American town. Not exactly related to what I tried to put up here, the children's dad (the lawyer and shooter, Atticus) said something like this:

Courage is when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.