Rogério is 14 years old. Born and has always lived on the outskirts of Recife, compared to his peers he is tall and thin, his friends have always put him to play as a goalkeeper, not only because he is tall, but also because he does not have much ability to play “on the line “.
He loves football, but hates being a goalkeeper, although he has excellent lateral movement and is able to anticipate, quite accurately, where the striker of the opposing team will hit the ball. Rogério has the perfect biotype to play tennis. a little effort and dedication, stand out in this sport, be champion, but he doesn’t know it. You won’t be a tennis player, he’s never seen a tennis racket up close, your future as an athlete will be the weekend goalkeeper.
- The story is fictional.
- But it’s based on millions of real stories.
- Tennis and football are just metaphors.
- Metaphors that could apply not only to children on the periphery of big cities.
- But to any of us.
- Anywhere in Brazil.
- Rogério from the previous story could succeed.
- Earn enough money to support his family with an excellent quality of life.
- But he will spend his life working as an administrative assistant in an office in the center of Recife.
A few days ago I came across an excellent text from a guy named David Cain from the raptitude. com blog. According to David, and trying to summarize what he says, there are four axes that define how each of us lives and will be:
Where do we work?What do we do when we are not working (leisure and personal projects)?The people we spend most of our time with
These four axes are not independent. They influence each other. Try to change jobs. Everything in your life will change a little bit. You will start living with different people and soon acquire different habits. Over time you will acquire other associations, visit different places on weekends. Try to change neighborhoods or towns: these four axes will change and your life. will change completely and you will change with your life.
The problem is that few manage to choose one of the axes, although they define us as a person, we have very little control over them, usually life is indefinite and we are based on land that we do not know.
When I graduated in 2002, for example, there were not many jobs for engineers, many of my colleagues have chosen to pursue a master’s degree, not out of sympathy for the academic career, but simply for lack of choice, in my case. , a great friend offered me a job at an NGO that, at the time, for some reason, paid even better than the few jobs available to engineers. I accepted the offer and learned a lot.
This experience has changed me a lot. I started living with leaders of the environmental movement in Brazil. He frequently visited the offices of ministers. At home, because of the influence of this environment, I have done everything I can to reduce my ecological footprint, my impact on the environment, years later I changed jobs in a completely different environment, government work, where bureaucracy and paper are even more important than common sense. Months after the exchange, it didn’t cost me that much to print a document. Even at home, I didn’t restrict my options as much because of the environmental impact it would have. I relaxed, that is, I changed my habit even at home (but not quite) for the change of work.
While I don’t regret choosing any of the jobs I mentioned earlier, they weren’t exactly life choices. I don’t know if I would have made the same decisions if I’d had other options available. Somehow, life took me there, and the choices I made seemed obvious to me at those different times.
Something similar is going on with our friends. I’ve met people so interesting that I’d like to have weekly or even daily meetings. They would be deeply close friends, but only if geographical circumstances allowed. Fortunately, today at least they can be great. ” Facebook friends. “Let’s face it, it’s not the same.
Friends, work and where you live also tend to define your personal projects, your habits, your routines, your wardrobe, even your dreams of life.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with continuing to live one’s life and making decisions when the need arises. We won’t necessarily make bad decisions. We all know how to minimize the difference between a good and a bad choice, but think about Rogério’s story, if at some point in his childhood he doesn’t start on the tennis racket (and this would just be the beginning). , what are the chances of becoming a professional tennis player and succeeding?Zero.
And all of us, if we’re not potential tennis champions, what are we?Why should we have been exposed to find our greatest potential?What kind of skills and talents do each of us have to make a difference in the world?Can I hear about it? Our school is not prepared for that, just like our family.
I don’t know the answer to the questions above, but I do know that the more you’re exposed to different options, the more likely you are to be in the world. Making conscious changes in one of these four axes, which normally accept without questioning too much, can lead to major changes in our quality of life. And changes, almost always, are for the better.
Do you want inspiration to change your life? He knows the bubbly life.