What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know I. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I once received a fortune cookie that read: “Speak less of your plans, you’ll get more done.” What’s one project that you’ve been sitting on and thinking about but haven’t made progress on? What’s stopping you? What would happen if you actually went for it and did it?
From an early age I have wanted to be a college professor. It was always something I wanted to do "once I got old." I had this mental image of a tweed sports jacket with elbow patches, maybe a pipe too. And a globe, definitely a globe. In my mind I'd be a professor of philosophy.
In reality, I went a more technical route. It's not that I gave up on that idea, but I had other plans for the time until I got old. I knew at some point I could take a few more classes, start working toward an advance degree. Then, when the hustle and bustle got old, I'd start teaching a class here and there.
So, based on that dream, my "one project I've been sitting on" would be working toward the elbow patches. To be that kind of instructor "then" I need to start working on that degree "now." Things have changed, though. Now I've got this obsession with God that's shaping my life. What I find fascinating is that this new relationship hasn't really changed that mental image, I just see me teaching religious studies or a similar topic.
My biggest obstacle is my previous experiences with formal education. I've spent enough time in school that I have a mental image of what it will be like to go back. I believe I have an understanding of what kinds of things I can expect to learn (and not learn) there. I have an idea of what kind of people I will (and won't) meet there. I desire knowledge, wisdom, and depth of understanding. I'm not confident I can get it there.
So...I have made a deliberate choice to increase the scope of my personal studies. I guess I'm going to self-educate. Someday I may take classes. But I don't think I need to go back to school to get an education. And I don't think I need an advanced degree (or tweed jacket) to be a teacher.
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