Leisure vs. Accomplishment

[dougo]

I retook the OKCupid Online Dating Persona Test because it had been over a year since the last time. (I've taken it three times now, and gotten a different result each time.) The following question is something I've been thinking about for a while now, though I had forgotten that this is where I saw it:

Which is more appealing?

• a life of leisure
• a life of accomplishment

I think I'm currently leaning towards accomplishment, but I don't remember what I answered before. A life of accomplishment seems to be the more responsible, admirable, heroic goal. But a life of leisure is also really appealing, especially now that I can afford it (assuming I can find a job at some point, which I'm pretty confident about for the moment). I have already accomplished something by getting a PhD, so maybe I'm entitled to just relax and enjoy the ride from here on out. But my dissertation is not something I'm particularly proud of—it's another in a long line of underachievements. But... maybe that means I'm just not cut out for achievement? And anyway, isn't accomplishment just a means to an end—the end being happiness, which comes with the rewards for accomplishment? I suppose general happiness is different from "a life of leisure", which connotes a certain hedonistic disregard for work. And accomplishment is its own reward, or so we're told. But really I think when it comes down to it, my ideas of leisure and accomplishment aren't contradictory: most of the things I would like to accomplish are both for my own leisure and forms of leisure. Now if only I could get someone to pay me for that!

Comments

[ex-colorwhe.livejournal.com]

i find it a pretty false question (their original one). i bet almost everyone would prefer some combination.

[dougo.livejournal.com]

It is somewhat of a false dichotomy. But it's also a very real choice that I make almost every evening: should I sit in my easy chair and watch a movie, or should I go up to my office and write some code? Or, more like, should I sit in my easy chair and watch a movie and feel guilty about it, or should I be guilt-free and just relax?

[ex-colorwhe.livejournal.com]

yeah, it's a perfectly fair question when posed about a certain evening, a certain day, a certain week or weekend. i just can't parse it when applied to a life or lifetime.

[dougo.livejournal.com]

Sure, it's somewhat about what I feel like doing at any particular moment. But I also think it is a life choice, in terms of choosing your long-term goals. I could see myself consciously choosing, as a path to follow, not to worry about accomplishments and instead concentrate more on "living in the moment". Or, consciously setting goals of things I want to accomplish, or just a meta-goal of having some standard of productivity that I would like to meet over the long run. Maybe you're right and there's no point in deciding one way or the other, but lately it's been feeling sort of like I'm at a crossroads.

[canadianpuzzler.livejournal.com]

That's the beauty of my laptop - I can watch a movie *and* accomplish something, although for me it's usually puzzle construction rather than coding.

[dougo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I meant it a bit more symbolically: should I turn my brain off, or not.

[(Anonymous)]

A balanced brain! goes back to the first comment, a combination of both.

An always ON Brain = Burn out, and
an always OFF Brain = Boredom and Booze (but you don't drink)
-- K