Indonesian Blogger .com

Obama on Getting Older

I just finished reading Barack Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope”, and find it a very fascinating read. A former editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama surely is a rare politician who can write eloquently and movingly about himself and his political views. He writes like an old friend talking to his buddy, commenting on such heavy topics of foreign policy to the more trivia memories of his childhood in Indonesia in great candor and simple common sense. I don’t always agree with his take on many issues, but do enjoy most of the narratives he purports.

Different from his first book, “Dreams from My Father”, which is a memoir written before Obama entered politics, the later book is more of a political document. Nevertheless, it still contains some introspective accounts worth contemplating. Among the takeaways from the book is his reflection on getting older. It resonates well with my own experience.

As we grow older, we will be more acquainted with our own flaws

“….But the years had also taken their toll. Some of it was just a function of my getting older, I suppose, for if you are paying attention, each successive year will make you more intimately acquainted with all of your flaws—the blind spots, the recurring habits of thought that may be genetic or may be environmental, but that will almost certainly worsen with time, as surely as the hitch in your walk turns to pain in your hip.”

Very true, indeed.When I was younger, perhaps ten to fifteen years ago, I would believe I could be successful in whatever career of my choosing, providing that I work hard enough to pursue it. After years of experience working in public and private institutions– riding up and down the career roller coaster–I came to realize that there are personal flaws preventing me from succeeding in certain jobs or working with particular types of person. I can’t be all things to all people. My great assets in one position would become huge liabilities in another. And as I get older, those flaws and blindspots are bound to be more obvious. It’s only human that for every strength we posses there in lies an equivalent weakness that we may or may not realize.

The older you are, the truer you are to yourself

“And the one thing I’ve discovered as I get older is that you have to do what is satisfying to you. In fact that’s one of the advantages of old age, I suppose, that you’ve finally learned what matters to you. It’s hard to know that at twenty-six. And the problem is that nobody else can answer that question for you. You can only figure it out on your own.”

Yupe. Twenty something me, years ago, would confuse success with wealth, such as having more material possessions or a better paying job. Of course they are still important, but they are just a means to an end. To really find success you need to know what really matters to you.

Now, I tend to equate success with contentment. When you find satisfaction with what you have accomplished, don’t dread facing every new day, feel at ease with the ones you deal with on a daily basis, feel loved, cared for, understood, and valued in what you do, then you should be proud of yourself as you have attained some degree of success. At the end of the day, it’s not the dollars (or rupiahs), but difference you make that matters most.

Success is when we can make this world a better place for our kids and many generations to come.

4 Comments | Posted in » success tips