This I Believe...

NPR did a radio series (that is now a book) on famous people who write short essays that start with "This I believe..."

OK, I chose not to listen or buy the book, BUT I still like the concept and encourage others to write blogs about this.

I believe externally motivated people will never truly be happy in life because they will always sacrifice what they really want for what they think others want them to have (or do or be).

I believe this is one of the main reasons celebrities become total
disasters. At some point in life (usually before they even know who
they are) someone tells them they are special and everyone loves them.
Then they become some person that everyone loves. Overtime, they either
become unhappy with the person they have to pretend to be or lose their
15 mins of fame and are no longer loved by everyone (therefore losing their identity). Enter drugs and drag racing Lindsay Lohan.

I believe there are several distinct phases of life.
1. First you are very insecure with yourself.
2. The you slowly begin to define who you are.
3. Then and only then do you gain a real interest in having an impact on the world you live in.

The first phase occurs mostly in middle / high school. It is like the opposite of
Hungry Hungry Hippos, everyone is so insecure they do not want any
attention on them, so they deflect attention onto others.

The second phase occurs somewhere between college and 40 years old.
Somewhere in my mid 20's I became comfortable with getting more
enjoyment doing nerdy things than going to a bar on the weekend.

I think finding Rachel and getting married has put me into they third
phase. My life is so happy that I can start to look beyond my own
little world. I think that is why recently I have begun to have some
interest in economics, history and politics. It actually get ansy at times when I feel like I should be more productive towards whatever contributions I was meant to make, but I haven't figured them out yet.

This is all similar to when I started playing indoor soccer. At first when someone passed me the ball, all I remember seeing was my feet. Then slowly you begin to watch defenders and even predict where to pass it for your teammates.

I also believe Red Sox fans can finally move on with life after winning the world series.

I also believe Lucy sniffs my face to determine my emotional state.