My OperaThursday, August 25, 2011 1:59:18 AM
''The Tragedy of Missing Out''
A father and his son went
fishing on a small boat, hungry.
The father helped his son reel in
his first fish, and it was a beauty.
“Great catch, son,” the father
said.
“Yes, but I’m worried I’m missing
out on better fish,” the son said.
“What if I could catch a bigger,
tastier fish?”
“Maybe you should try,” the
father said.
And the son did, catching an
even bigger fish an hour later. “A
real beauty,” the father said.
“But what if there are better fish
out there?” the son asked.
“Maybe you should try,” the
father said.
And the son did, catching a
bigger fish, then wondering if
there were better fish, catching
another, and so on.
At the end of the day, the son
was exhausted. The father asked,
“How did the fish taste?”
The son hesitated. “I’m not sure. I
was so busy looking for better
fish that I didn’t taste any of
them.”
The father smiled contentedly,
patted his belly. “Don’t worry.
They were delicious.”
—
We are all of us like the son. We
all worry, at some time or other,
that we’re missing out on things.
It’s why we’re so busy
— we
take on so much because we
don’t want to miss out. We take
on dozens of goals and
aspirations, because we don’t
want to miss out.
But here’s the bare truth: we will
miss out, no matter what. It’s
inevitable. We cannot do or try
everything in the world, even
with lives twice as long. We
cannot see every town and city,
read every interesting book,
watch every important film. We
will always, always miss out.
Here’s the second, more
important truth: if you always
worry about what you’re
missing out on, you will miss out
on what you already have.
Don’t make a reading list a mile
long — focus on the book in
your hand. Don’t pack your
vacation itinerary with every
highlight of the city you’re
visiting — walk around and
enjoy what you find.
Don’t
worry about traveling the entire
world — be delighted with the
world around you.
Don’t worry
about what you’re missing
online, or in the news — what
you’re doing is good enough.
And let go of your long to-do
lists and goal lists. They are a
futile attempt to keep from
missing out. You will miss out,
but in striving to do everything,
you’ll miss out on the wonder of
the thing you are doing right
now.
What you’re doing right now is
all that matters. Let the rest go,
and enjoy the fish you’ve already
caught.
A father and his son went
fishing on a small boat, hungry.
The father helped his son reel in
his first fish, and it was a beauty.
“Great catch, son,” the father
said.
“Yes, but I’m worried I’m missing
out on better fish,” the son said.
“What if I could catch a bigger,
tastier fish?”
“Maybe you should try,” the
father said.
And the son did, catching an
even bigger fish an hour later. “A
real beauty,” the father said.
“But what if there are better fish
out there?” the son asked.
“Maybe you should try,” the
father said.
And the son did, catching a
bigger fish, then wondering if
there were better fish, catching
another, and so on.
At the end of the day, the son
was exhausted. The father asked,
“How did the fish taste?”
The son hesitated. “I’m not sure. I
was so busy looking for better
fish that I didn’t taste any of
them.”
The father smiled contentedly,
patted his belly. “Don’t worry.
They were delicious.”
—
We are all of us like the son. We
all worry, at some time or other,
that we’re missing out on things.
It’s why we’re so busy
— we
take on so much because we
don’t want to miss out. We take
on dozens of goals and
aspirations, because we don’t
want to miss out.
But here’s the bare truth: we will
miss out, no matter what. It’s
inevitable. We cannot do or try
everything in the world, even
with lives twice as long. We
cannot see every town and city,
read every interesting book,
watch every important film. We
will always, always miss out.
Here’s the second, more
important truth: if you always
worry about what you’re
missing out on, you will miss out
on what you already have.
Don’t make a reading list a mile
long — focus on the book in
your hand. Don’t pack your
vacation itinerary with every
highlight of the city you’re
visiting — walk around and
enjoy what you find.
Don’t
worry about traveling the entire
world — be delighted with the
world around you.
Don’t worry
about what you’re missing
online, or in the news — what
you’re doing is good enough.
And let go of your long to-do
lists and goal lists. They are a
futile attempt to keep from
missing out. You will miss out,
but in striving to do everything,
you’ll miss out on the wonder of
the thing you are doing right
now.
What you’re doing right now is
all that matters. Let the rest go,
and enjoy the fish you’ve already
caught.
