A Quote for Your Life #4
Seneca the Elder on realising your passions
If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind — Seneca
This is the perfect piece of advice for a young person. We are forced to make career choices from a very young age. It always seems to be a bit later on in life where we realise what our strengths and interests actually are.
The harbor could be thought of as your dream, or end goal. Seneca is saying that if you’re unsure what your ambitions are, then try anything that could lead to interest. You are infinitely more likely to reach your harbor if you are moving than if you are stationary.
You can think of the wind as anything that you have going for you, such as a set of skills, or simply an opportunity. For example, lets say you view yourself as a creative person, but you have no idea what to dedicate your time to. In this scenario, the wind is going to push you towards creative pastimes. These include cooking, creating music, art and design.
Lets say your eventual dream/destination is harbor B. You don’t see this harbor from your starting position. You have an opportunity which nudges you towards A. You decide that harbor A isn’t for you, but now you can see harbor B, and so more opportunity is created.
If you take anything from away this quote, it should be the danger of standing still. By standing still, I mean a state where you’re making 0 progress towards your goals and ambitions. If you don’t know what your ambitions are, then standing still is the worst thing you could do. Seneca teaches us that the solution to this problem is to be proactive and experimental.
