"The quality of our lives is largely determined by the quality of the questions we ask -- and the quality of our answers." Not sure who originally said this, but what do you think?
Disagree, but not entirely. If you change "largely determined" to "influenced" or even "significantly influenced" then I agree. There are just too many other variables involved. Oh, and I did a Google search for that quote and this was the only result. So, according to Google, this quote is attributed to some management consultant woman's website. Whether it's her original quote or not, I don't know.
I guess I can agree with that. I worked at this place and there was a guy named Ken there. One day Ken wasn't working there any more. One guy asked the boss "what happened to Ken?", the answer "He asked to many fucking questions". I guess the questions we ask do affect our quality of life. It sure affected Ken's.
Interesting story, but it's about the quantity of questions asked. The quote is about the quality of questions.
I think the quality of our lives is more determined by the quality of chocolate and bacon we can procure.
It's an interesting philosophy, not without merit, but it is insufficient, IMHO. It is true that the quality of questions we ask is extremely important, as they will determine what we value in life. The quality of answers we find is also extremely important, because merely asking questions, but not finding answers, is not the key to a meaningful life. But, in addition to Moocey's caveat, I would add a third aspect: "The quality of our lives is greatly influenced by the quality of the questions we ask, the quality of the answers we find, and what we choose to do with those answers."
Sounds like rhetorical nonsense to me. From what I've observed, the quality of one's life is determined on who your father and/or mother is. If you come from an influential family with connections, you'll get an influential job, if you don't, you get something like Walmart door greeter (etc.,) college degree or not. There are very few exceptions to this rule. Can't tell you how many times I thought about killing myself before they finally found after like 8 drugs, Effexor brings sunshine into Beck's day. But still, I have a secure adequate paying job, but am I satisfied with life? hell no. In fact the more questions I ask, the more unsatisfied I get. You get up, go to work, do the same old shit, go home, go through the motions there, go to sleep, just to wake up and do it all over again. Oh, and hope to God your superiors approve your requests for vacation and personal days. And what makes me sick the most is if you ask that question with regard to this post, you KNOW I'm right. There's something terribly wrong with this country. I can't put my finger on it, but it's growing.
I come from a poor family no one ever heard of, that had no "connections" to anyone or anything. Both of my brothers did prison time for felonies (and both of them were guilty; no false convictions involved). Most of the time in our adult lives, most of my siblings have lived in trailers. Because of various choices--with which I am entirely satisfied--my current financial status is much more in line with a "Walmart door greeter" than someone who has what you would deem an "influential job." Nevertheless, I am quite widely known in a number of French-speaking countries. And though I have chosen to use my spare time (and finances) for humanitarian work rather than getting rich, the "quality of my life" is quite sufficient for me. My life might not satisfy you, but by every measure of what I deem important, it is a success. I have a happy marriage, great kids, and the privilege of making a difference to thousands of people, from abandoned children in Madagascar to people living in some of the richest cities of the world. I cannot really think of any significant ways in which the quality of my life could be seriously improved. And all that, despite coming from a poor family with no "influence" and no "connections." Because I asked some important questions about what is really important to me, early on, then pursued answers until I found them, and then acted on them instead of just sitting around dreaming.
The unexamined life isn't worth living, there are no stupid questions, and knowledge is power. But... The more we know the more we realize how little we know, curiosity killed the cat, and ignorance is bliss.
And I commend you for that, but what YOU did took alot of internal strength that most people just don't have (it's a gift, really it is). Most people seem to come to a point where they toss their arms up in the air and settle. I don't know what you do, I'm happy that this "quote" seems to have applied to you, but for most of us, the more questions we ask, the more we dream, and as we're defeated trying to achieve those dreams, we lose that spark to stand up again, so eventually we settle. (I'm referring to the general population, not WF.)
Agreed. And my contention is that such people will never attain a very high quality of life no matter how many figures there are in their income. That's why I maintain that the quality of the questions you ask, the quality of the answers you find, and what you choose to do with those answers, will determine the quality of your life much more than the family into which you are born. What you are saying is that most people either don't find meaningful answers, or don't do anything with them, which means the quality of their lives is going to be severely limited. Which, really, is exactly what I am saying.
And I just want to add that the job market has never been dimmer in, oh my, the "history of markets," which yields to a high level of competition for sought after positions as well as not so sought after positions and quantities are limited. So you get alot of wasted potential out there, some of whom won't even make a try for it these days. It's sad. No, sad isn't the word; it's tragic.
What a bunch of garbage. Life is what you make of it. My family isn't rich or influential and I'm doing pretty well. I earned everything I have. I put myself through college using the Army. I went to a war. I traveled all over the US and I'm starting to get some global travel in. I networked to get myself a good job for a great company. Nobody has given me anything, I've just gone out and got it myself. It's all about ambition, you either have it or you don't. I'm very satisfied with my life, it just keeps getting better. I have plans and back up plans that I work towards constantly.
Yeah, okay, so, manage not to get turned to warm pulsing goo by an IED, THEN the doors open. No roulette factor there, nosiree....
Actually there are three universal factors: 1. good sex 2. comfortables shoes 3. a warm place to go to the bathroom do not attempt to achieve all three simultaneously - try to strike a balance if you can. You are now all honorary Shaolin Monks.
"The quality of MY LIFE is largely determined by the QUANTITY OF STUPID QUESTIONS OTHERS ask -- and the quality of MY BULLSHIT answers."
If I had been killed in Iraq I would have been satisfied with my accomplishments up to that point. I've basically felt good about my life for as long as I can remember. Life would be boring with the roulette factor.
"Quality" is ridiculously subjective. Step outside your culture and era, and the word has no real meaning at all. Not wealth, career, relationship, profound experience or some kind of psychobabble self-actualization bullshit. None of it. If I choose to define it as a measure of how much time I had to myself, doing whatever the fuck I want, there is not a single soul who can tell me I'm wrong, even if "whatever I want" happens to be absolutely nothing. In the end, I guess what that means is that the quality of your life depends on how skilled you are at convincing yourself that your life has redeeming qualities. Whether or not anyone agrees with you doesn't matter in the slightest.
