Member-only story
Do You Know What You Value?
David Gerrold is a prolific sci-fi screenwriter and novelist. When he was about 23 years old he wrote the script for the original Star Trek episode called “The Trouble with Tribbles.” He’s also famous for having penned:
Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order.
It’s a bit on the nose but is a good reminder of the inevitable hardships of life. Seeds of opportunity can be found in every difficulty, and while we can’t escape life’s challenges, we can choose how to navigate them. The key isn’t avoiding obstacles but aligning our actions with what we value. This alignment gives meaning to our struggles.
Often, in the moments of our most difficult struggles, all we can do is survive. When we emerge from those trials, we can look back and find purpose in suffering, and that suffering can help us identify what we value because it’s easiest to see what we value when it’s taken from us.
Fortunately, we don’t have to endure major or even minor setbacks in life to take a step back and assess what it is that we value.
We’ve all either known people or been those people who have lost jobs and been unemployed for an extended period, lost loved ones…
