From College Dorm to Training Room
A story about how I revisited My Ultimate Goal: Part-2
Hi There!
Welcome back to my discussion.
Last time we discussed how I had a conversation about “My Ultimate Goal” with my friend in college and then how I got the opportunity to revisit it in my office’s training room. You can read it all in the part-1 of this post below.
In this post, I will continue with the discussion that I had in my training room with my colleagues. So without further ado, lets begin.
So, I took center stage, got the attention of my audience and after completing the formalities I said:
“My ultimate goal in my life, which I also think is next to impossible, is : To be able to discuss every topic in this world.”
“I love discussions” I continued.
“I mean the healthy ones. Furthermore, I like to hear new thoughts, and I like to share mine as well. For me, every new topic is like a newly discovered element that can transform our lives. It makes me curious, and I try to know about it with all my abilities. This is one of the reasons that I will always be a student in life, because every new topic makes me curious, like a toddler for whom everything is new, and he wants to know everything.” I added.
I had no intention to stop, but got interrupted with an obvious question: “If you are that interested in learning, then why do you consider it next to impossible?”
Good question. I have asked it during the discussion with myself as well.
The answer: “ Knowledge is like a well, you start digging it, and you think that your mission is successful when you hit the water, but beneath it is an unseen ocean, and you have only a fraction of it in front of you. Whenever I think that I know a lot about anything, I get introduced to a new thing in it and as soon as I learn it, something new is discovered.
So, the reason why I consider it next to impossible is because this world’s history contains people. Curious people. Who were hungry for knowledge and were able enough to discover, invent, and create things that were new, revolutionary, and unheard of. Things which would have been considered as magic if not explained. And there’s a lot of it.
If I make a note of everything that exists till today and start to study, it might take me a lifetime to complete it. Although, I will still not be able to complete it, however for the sake of this discussion let’s assume that I will be able to complete them somehow. Will it suffice?
I don’t think so.
Reason?
Same!
People!
There are people even today. Curious people. Who are hungry for knowledge and are able enough to discover, invent, and create things that are new, revolutionary, and unheard of. And they are doing it almost every day. So, the pace with which new topics are adding up to the pile is greater than my pace to learn. So, I will always be behind. There will be a lag. Always!”
“That’s sad!” Said the empath in the group.
“No, it’s not! It’s beautiful. The beauty of knowledge is in thirst. The thirst to know more. Let’s say that somehow there will be a day when you will be able to learn everything. Do you think you will feel satisfied? Will your thirst be quenched? It might but for some time only.
The problem with thirst is that it returns. So, once you have learned everything that exists in this world, what will you do once your thirst will return? You might restart, but that isn’t the same. It’s just like watching a movie. You have watched everything, now you start re-watching them. After some time, you stop watching and start analyzing them. And then, you become a critic. And in my experience, once you become a critic, you become unable to enjoy like an audience.”
“So, if we can complete it, we will die thirsty. And if we can’t, then again, we will die thirsty. Kind of a lose-lose situation! Isn’t it?” my audience wasn’t shying away from the questions that day.
“Well, yes! And no!” I answered him.
“The difference is in the possibility of looking up to something. Once you have achieved something, there is nothing left to achieve. Nothing left to look up to. In this case, you will feel thirsty, and it will stay without any possibility of being quenched. It will be a life but without an aim.
You will have no mountains left to climb if you have conquered Mt. Everest.
But, if you still aren’t done, you have things to look up to. You will have an aim in your life, so you will have a reason to live.”
“The goal is to retire, not surrender.”
“Great Shreesh! You may stop now. Let’s roll with someone else”. My trainer was a specialist in surprising me with an interruption when I least expected it. I already have established that I am an overthinker, but I forgot to mention that I am an over-sharer as well. And usually, this results in my topics getting elongated in a way even I wouldn’t have imagined.
While returning to my seat, I felt that I had done it again. It was too much, maybe because I expected applause, but I got none. To feel good, I decided to consider the sounds of crickets in the room as applause for me.
This thought stayed with me for some time but then I realized that I got the chance to share something that had been pending for a long time. And I got to complete the task. While I sat down, my perspective changed. I found that in my book, this went well.
For me, it was a win.
And that’s how my discussion on Ultimate Goal was complete, ultimately. The question raised in my college days was answered openly after years in my professional life. It’s a surprise how the answer stayed the same after so many years. A happy surprise though as usually, with time, people lose interest in learning, but luckily, I still possess it.
This blog concludes here, but I’d like to share a thought that crossed my mind at that moment. It deserves a deeper dive, but I’ll leave it for now, ready to be explored some other day.
I have heard somewhere that your happiness depends on you, not on others.
“You have to create your own happiness.”
So, at that time.
I applauded for myself.
So, what do you think? Did you like my story? Is it something you agree with?
Tell me in the comments.
Thank you for reading. I hope you like it.
Till next time.
Shreesh, Signing off!
