52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 8

Doing Nothing by Tom Lutz is essentially the history of the slacker. From Benjamin Franklin and Thoreau to communes, beatniks, the punk movement and George W. Bush – I found this history to be quite interesting. While I expected to see references to Office Space and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I was surprised by the amount of references to authors, music and movies that I had not considered before. It turns out that our culture is heavily defined by slackers.

There is definitely a dichotomy of working too much vs. working too little and lots of misunderstandings in between. I think it boils down to contentment. We are unhappy when we work too much and we get bored when we feel like we have nothing to do...

This book also points out that often those who would be labeled slackers are actually quite busy, while those who are seen as workaholics may be good at pretending to look busy.

Narrowing down to just 5 quotes proved difficult as there were a lot of good ones...

"(The movie) Office Space is more than a comedy. It is an anthem for the down-trodden cube-borgs everywhere, who have had the life and soul stomped out of them by an uncaring corporate entity." – eFilmCritic.com

We all feel overworked, underpaid and under appreciated, but we all occasionally fear we are imposters, freeloaders, bums.

Doing nothing, purposely meaningless work, unsullied play, meaningless movement – in a culture obsessed with purpose, pragmatism and productivity, to do nothing is not a neutral act. To conspicuously do nothing is to assert and insist upon a counterculture identity. (Referring to the skate boarding culture of the 1970s).

"The twentysomethings were a marketer's worst nightmare. They could very well be the demographic from hell." – Marketing News (Referring to Generation X)

"GenXers' willingness to walk away from an unsatisfactory employment relationship luanched the staffing crisis that plagues employers today and has allowed them to become the most entrepreneurial generation in history." - Bruce Tulgar

On Being Content

It seems that in recent weeks/months, Daniel and I have really struggled with being content. It is hard to pinpoint what exactly keeps us from being truly happy. Is it wrapped up in our jobs (or lack thereof)? Is it the desire of wanting more things? It is related to the fact that we are so far from so many that we love? Do expectations of what life should be like play a role?

It is hard to say. Based on talking to some of our friends and reading various blogs, it appears that we are not alone in our search.
 
I recently started reading the book, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. The author travels the world trying to understand if where you live plays a role in your level of happiness. While the premise that geography has an effect on happiness is an interesting one, I personally believe that, regardless of where one resides, it is up to the individual to choose to be happy in their shoes (to borrow a phrase from a friend).

Hopefully the future will bring us closer to family (geographically speaking), but for now, I will try to be happy in my shoes. For me this means being thankful for the things I am blessed with. I have a job. We have a house. I have a wonderful husband and great family. I have a sweet dog - that I don't have to train. I will work more on appreciating and doing the things I love and and spend less time dwelling on the things that I want or think I need.