I've been running since October. Having great fun. Feeling good to call myself a runner.
Should I call myself a runner? How many kilometers must I have run to be a runner?
Some identifies can be had without practice or repetition. One only needs to kill once to be a killer, cheat once to be a cheater, or buy the "right" lottery ticket to be a lottery winner. To be a runner, singer or painter, however, one has to have committed to the activity and done a fair amount of running, singing or painting. Some other identities, say, a parent or a good friend, take time and efforts to maintain.
It would appear that those identities that are hard to acquire or maintain are capable of delivering greater and more long-lasting happiness. It may well explain why people are not necessarily happier as they become Richer – they do not acquire any new identity as they move up the rich to richer to obscenely rich ladder. Indeed, people report that they are happier if they kiss goodbye to some of their money. They give, and they become philanthropists, educators, patrons of art and supporters of scientific discoveries.
There are people whose only sense of self-worth appears to derive from their status as one of the very rich. They are glad that they are Ten Times Richer than their peers but constantly fear that they may one day wake up form their sleep only to discover that they are nine, not ten times richer than their neighours and old friends. My most humble advice to them – get a life, get a new identity, no matter what, or do some running.
Should I call myself a runner? How many kilometers must I have run to be a runner?
Some identifies can be had without practice or repetition. One only needs to kill once to be a killer, cheat once to be a cheater, or buy the "right" lottery ticket to be a lottery winner. To be a runner, singer or painter, however, one has to have committed to the activity and done a fair amount of running, singing or painting. Some other identities, say, a parent or a good friend, take time and efforts to maintain.
It would appear that those identities that are hard to acquire or maintain are capable of delivering greater and more long-lasting happiness. It may well explain why people are not necessarily happier as they become Richer – they do not acquire any new identity as they move up the rich to richer to obscenely rich ladder. Indeed, people report that they are happier if they kiss goodbye to some of their money. They give, and they become philanthropists, educators, patrons of art and supporters of scientific discoveries.
There are people whose only sense of self-worth appears to derive from their status as one of the very rich. They are glad that they are Ten Times Richer than their peers but constantly fear that they may one day wake up form their sleep only to discover that they are nine, not ten times richer than their neighours and old friends. My most humble advice to them – get a life, get a new identity, no matter what, or do some running.
