What I'm Reading:
How To Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen:
How To Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen gives great insight on how I can find satisfaction in my career, develop meaningful personal relationships, and avoid compromising my integrity. However, there was one specific topic Christensen discussed that really impacted me: the full cost of "just this once" thinking.
I generally like to think of myself as an optimistic and happy person. In fact, positivity is one of my strengths, according to my friends and family. I have also always been a strong achiever. I graduated valedictorian of my high school class and have maintained a 4.0 GPA after nearly five semesters at Texas A&M University. Throughout my life, I never imagined my optimistic and achieving characteristics could lead to the demise of my overall happiness. However, reading this book gave me an entire new perspective that changed my outlook on life and happiness.
Christensen discusses how many of his former colleagues and students are now divorced or in jail. Although I am not yet married or in a full-time job, I hope to one day start a family and also have a successful career. However, this book introduced me to the crucial balance aspect that I must learn to not lose sight of my values.
At a surface level analysis, a balanced life does not seem difficult to achieve. Right now, I think I have a decently balanced life between work, school, spiritual, and social events. However, Christensen discusses “just this once thinking,” and how it is extremely contagious to one’s habits. I can already pinpoint current instances of this in my current life, such as choosing not to exercise to sleep in longer. This compromise then makes it easier to not exercise again and again, and before long, I will go an entire month without working out.
While my current example is not detrimental, I have realized that down the road it will be crucial to avoid this thinking pattern. As I mentioned, I am a high achieving and optimistic person, so I always want to complete my work to the best of my abilities and keep my team satisfied. It may be tempting to think “I will miss my child’s soccer game just this once, so I can finish the annual report tonight,” or “I will overestimate revenues just this once, so the team meets our quarterly goal.” However, these one time thoughts can easily turn into every day actions that can corrupt a person’s life and lead to a divorce or jail time.
Although I can never see myself executing such thoughts, Christensen has showed me the full cost and ultimate damage this thinking pattern can cause. I believe the best practice to achieve true happiness is to take Christensen’s advice and follow my standards 100% of the time. I will not compromise my moral values for anything, not even my own goals. By being self-aware and avoiding just-this once thinking, I can focus on living a well-balanced and HAPPY life!