Charlie Reese in his article “learn to edit life” gives a clue about how one can change his or her life and why is this modification significant for all of us. He signifies the importance of daily life decisions one has to make throughout his life. The concept of being an individualist and its significance also lies in the article. The article focuses on the unpredictability of life. Therefore it must not be lived being a pessimist, indecisive, or conformist as it will lead to despair.
Though life is short and also does not go according to our plans, the author emphasizes taking some time out of our busy routines and reviewing the day spent, and making a plan for the next one. This will help in reflecting on what we were, who we are today, and what we want to become.
The focus is an essential factor to lead our lives successfully. The lifespan does not matter, but the attentiveness towards the different aspects of our lives and how we should deal with all of them issues significantly. Some people can achieve so much in their lives while others do not. Some have the capability of accomplishing different fields and are well in multitasking, but others are only able to focus on just one task at a time. These differences lie in the amount of focus we are putting on our lives and the decisions we are making. Our choices, undoubtedly, have an enormous impact on us, our experience, and also the lives of people around us. One decision leads to a whole new life. Saying a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ leads you to two different destinations. Deciding what we want to do, what we want to achieve, what we want to read, what we want to watch, where we want to go, and what kind of people to accompany, all these decisions constitute our whole life.
One thing that caught my attention in the article was how today some people and institutions try to have control on us and our lives. We try to prove ourselves to the world our whole life, and still get nothing out of it. We become a conformist to our friends and family, and even the adverse situations that prevail in our society. Not many people understand the importance of standing up for oneself. Charlie has taken the issue quite seriously which is one of the strengths of the article. He says that it’s easier to change a ‘no’ to ‘yes’ but hard to convert ‘yes’ to ‘no.’ Saying yes every time whether you like it or not leads to regret. Life is too short to say yes and regret later. Why not change it by saying no and being satisfied with your decision?
In the light of the article, I think that saying yes in every kind of situation does not always mean that you’re compromising. We all need to compromise throughout to keep the bond of our relations intact, but it shouldn’t be one-sided. We all are born with our individualism and have a right to say no when our inner self says no. Our tongue must go according to our inner self.
One weakness I found in the article is that the author also should have mentioned the importance of ethics and moral values to edit our lives efficiently. There’s a lot of intolerance in us. Lack of respect and love has made our lives bitter. People get in a whirlpool of jealousy for their fellows in the name of competition.
Living in the present is also an important edit of our lives. If one learns how he or she can get out of the past bitterness, instead learn from it and avoid thinking too much about the long-term future, his or her life will be at much peace.
To apply all the edits the author has mentioned in the article, one must ponder upon the present state of his life and where is he standing right now. What is there that needs to be done at first? Being a highly indecisive personality, the first edit I would like to make in my life is to make decisions on my own without being convinced by other opinions. The choices I take may be wrong, but this is the only way I can learn and improve in decision-making. These decisions may be small like should go for a hangout or rest at home, and big such as pursuing a career or getting settled with a partner. All of these decisions must have my 100% focus on what I want to do, and what’s my top priority at the moment, which aspect has a significant part in my life that needs the most attention.
On the professional ground, the application of the essay lies in saying yes for the job you want to do, something you have a passion for, and then doing it with full determination. I should not let jealousy come in my way and get contented with what I have at present.
All of these edits are important to make for all of us. Life isn’t smooth and predictable. As the author mentioned that when we’re young and healthy, life seems to be endless, but as we grow older we start realizing its real face. Therefore, these edits must be made in the document of our life.
Works Cited
Reese, Charlie. “Learn to edit life.” King Features Syndicate, 2002. Print.
