Tag: college

Shiny Prizes

MIKE2 Comments

The girl, the guy. The spot on the varsity team. The vacation. The elite college, program, or club. The job (and of course the salary). The membership. The friend group. The invitation. 

My daughters are in their sophomore and senior years. There are a lot of shiny prizes on their radar. I want them to chase the prizes – it reflects on me. My ego demands it.

But why?

Years ago a friend offered us tickets to a University of Florida football game. They were playing a good team. It would have been fun. But we didn’t really want to go.

The tickets were valuable to someone, just not us.

I think about this often when I get stuck on shiny prizes. One person’s prize is another persons meh. What one person wants so badly another person asks so what. And these prizes lose their appeal.

Step 1: Want a thing.

Step 2: Get a thing.

Step 3: Ask why we wanted the thing so badly in the first place.

All parents want for their kids. But do we want the right thing? The shiny prizes or valuable ones?

Related: How will you measure your life?

“Why?” to be Happy.

MIKELeave a comment

This book, opens Bob Moesta and Michal Horn, does not tackle getting into schools or how to rank different schools based on their features.

“Instead, if you are considering getting more education, this book will help you answer a more foundational question first. That question is why?”

Asking “Why” is a good way to be happier.

In the post from last week, we highlighted Kris’s comments about framing housing. In that same post he writes, “Neither of us wants to find ourselves servicing interest payments to some mimetic trends.”

Why do we want this house? The answer better not be The Joneses.

Moesta’s and Horn’s book Choosing College gives a framework for answering that question. “Why?” is a tough question. It’s hard to answer with a blank slate. But the authors suggest there are five Jobs to be done by going to college, and figuring out the progress shifts from the blank canvas to a paint by numbers masterpiece.

“Why?” to be happy. And when needed a book like this to help with the “How?”.