Our local newspaper carried an interesting article by Tim McGuire, syndicated columnist, who interviewed Cliff Hakim, author of “We Are All Self-Employed: How to Take Control of Your Own Career.” Mr. Hakim has a consulting business, Rethinking Work, which helps others determine the kind of work that is important and meaningful to them. He feels life is too short to waste it doing work that is unfulfilling. Mr. Hakim believes that people should look into their past, to think about their own stories, in order to understand what is important to them and what gives them joy. By finding a job that meshes with what is meaningful to you, then you will find happiness and be able to add value in your own way to the world.
A tip at the end of the article states that reflecting on ordinary memories and childhood stories will help you realize “important things about who you are now.” So, perhaps our reminiscing is not just making a happy familiar playground for our minds or, in the case of unhappy pasts, a way of inflicting further pain on our psyches, but rather a way to really look at ourselves and learn lessons from our history that will help us lead more fulfilled and complete lives now… an interesting thought for the day.