Everyday Canvas

Is this advice about the ambition of living doable?

Prompt: “Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. Not simply be what is generally called a 'success.'" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Is this good advice and do you think it is doable?

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This is really a high and mighty goal to reach, although I believe we all do the best we can to live a life which is at least provides some contentment, somewhere, somehow.

Is it doable? I believe it can be done by some who live in a good place and grow up in a good family and with some luck. This quote wouldn’t work for a person who is fearing for his life in a war zone or those imprisoned in Auschwitz or people who may be in countless dire straits.

The problem with such an advice is that it puts too much pressure on a person’s psyche. It feels as if you have to do all that or else, you have failed somehow. From that point of view, as much as the advice sounds good and it strokes the egos, it is not the best advice ever.

Eleanor Roosevelt was an uplifter of people, especially women, and her preaching this must have been centered in that context. Also, I believe she is referring to ‘success’ as in fame or financial security. While there is nothing wrong with those things, the word success can also be applied to gaining experience and understanding and enjoyment of life.

As writers, here in WdC, almost everyone I read seems to have a natural curiosity and interest in just about everything, and they seem to be gaining understanding and experience in most areas. Are they doing those things fully; who knows? After all, who can measure such successes?