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Over the past May, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates possess something of inestimable value. Nearly every sensible middle-aged person would give away all their money to be able to go back to age 22 and begin adulthood anew.
But, especially this year, one is conscious of the many ways in which this year’s graduating class has been ill served by their elders. They enter a bad job market, the 1)hangover from decades of excessive borrowing. They inherit a 2)ruinous federal debt.
More important, their lives have been 3)perversely structured. This year’s graduates are members of the most supervised generation in American history. Through their childhoods and teenage years, they have been monitored, tutored, coached and 4)honed to an 5)unprecedented degree.
Yet upon graduation they will enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and 6)unstructured. Most of them will not quickly get married, buy a home and have kids, as previous generations did. Instead, they will confront amazingly diverse job markets, social landscapes and lifestyle 7)niches. Most will spend a decade wandering from job to job and 8)clique to clique, searching for a role.
No one would design a system of extreme supervision to prepare people for a decade of extreme openness. But this is exactly what has emerged in modern America. College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of
9)navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment requiring a different set of skills, which they have to figure out on their own.
Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole 10)baby-boomer 11)theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the 12)commencement addresses being broadcast on 13)C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the 14)litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.
But, of course, this 15)mantra misleads on nearly every front.
College grads are often sent out into the world amid 16)rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments—to a 17)spouse, a community and 18)calling—yet mostly hears about freedom and 19)autonomy.
Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.
Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life. A relative suffers from 20)Alzheimer’s and a young woman feels called to help cure that disease. A young man works under a miserable boss and must develop management skills so his department can function. Another young woman finds herself confronted by an opportunity she never thought of in a job category she never imagined. This wasn’t in her plans, but this is where she can make her contribution.
Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.
The graduates are also told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to 21)court unhappiness—the things they did that were 22)arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most.
Finally, graduates are told to be independent-minded and to express their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well often means suppressing yourself. As 23)Atul Gawande mentioned during his
24)countercultural address this May at Harvard Medical School, being a good doctor often means being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a 25)regimented 26)checklist.
Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are 27)egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.
在过去的五月份里，又有一届美国大学生走出学校踏入社会。他们都拥有无法估量的潜力和价值。相信大凡已届中年的明智之人都宁愿放弃自己所拥有的金钱回到22岁，重新开启人生之路。
然而，尤其是今年，毕业生四面受困，深受前辈遗祸之苦。他们步入的是一个惨淡的就业市场，要面对几十年来过度借贷所遗留下来的问题，还将承担毁灭性的联邦债务。
更重要的是，他们的生活被几近变态的条条框框束缚着，他们是美国有史以来受管教最多的一代。他们从小到大都要接受前所未有的监管、教导、训练和磨练。
然而，他们将要面对的是史上最开放自由的世界。他们中大部分人不会像上几代人那样很快就结婚、买房、生儿育女，而是要应对异常多样化的就业市场、社交圈子和生活定位。大部分人还将耗上近十年的时间跳槽、变换社交圈子、寻找自己的人生定位。
没有人会规划出一套严格极致的管教体制去训练人们应对未来十年极度开放的社会，但现代美国社会却恰恰出现了这种情况。大学生们成长于对人才技能有特定需求的社会环境里，等他们投身社会时，社会对人才技能却是另一套要求，而他们必须自己去掌握这些技能。
最糟糕的是，当他们踏足社会时，耳边回响的是婴儿潮一代的教条。你只需从有线—卫星公共事务网络上找一些毕业致辞来看一下就知道，他们教导毕业生们要“追随自己的激情，规划自己的人生，踏着自己人生钟鼓的节奏前进，追逐自己的梦想，找寻自我”。这些冗长的个人主义陈词，至今仍是美国文化的主流声音。
当然了，这样的调调带来的却几乎是方方面面的误导。
毕业生通常都是在宣扬一切皆有可能的激情演讲中走进社会，但这样的演讲对于长大成人所需要的主要经历毫无益处，也不利于人们找寻让自己安定下来的事业。成功的年轻人开始对他们的伴侣、对社会以及对自己的事业许下神圣的承诺。而那些承诺中充满了自由和自主的声音。
时下的毕业生们受到的教诲是“找寻激情，追求梦想”。这意味着他们首先要认识自我，然后才出发，去实现他们的追求。但是毫无疑问，年仅22或24岁的年轻人极少会内省，然后发现一个成熟的自我。
大多数成功的年轻人并不着眼于自我然后计划人生，而是放眼外界，发现问题，找到自己的使命所在。一位年轻女士的亲戚患上了老年痴呆症，她感到帮助病患痊愈是生活对她的召唤。一位年轻人有个难伺候的上司，而他必须掌握一些管理技能方能使得他的部门正常运作下去。又有一年轻女士由于一个难得的机会遇到她从没想象过的工作，这些都不在她的意料之中，但恰恰是她能作出贡献之处。
许多人并不是先自我定位再开展人生的。他们被某个问题所“召唤”并在这一过程中形成对自我的定位。
毕业生还被教导说要追求幸福和快乐。但是毫无疑问，当你阅读偶像的传记时，让你崇拜他们的并不是他们乐享之事，而是他们苦苦求索的艰辛努力，那些艰难悲惨的境况，有时还可能会因此失去朋友、引发仇恨。最让我们赞赏的是他们的卓越超群，而不是他们的悠游快意。
最后，毕业生还被教导要独立，勇于表达内心的主张。但是毫无疑问，要做好本分工作往往意味着要压抑自我。正如阿图·葛文德五月份在哈佛大学医学院所作的反主流文化演讲中所说的，要做一名优秀的医生常常意味着要融入团队，遵守医院的规矩，按严格的程序办事。
时下的毕业生沉浸在鼓吹以自我为生活中心的社会文化里。但是毫无疑问，随着年龄的增长，他们会发现生活的中心是各种任务。满足感只是人们完成这些任务所产生的副产品，并且无法直接获得。我们大部分人都很自我，在大多数时候都以自我为中心，但事实上生活的意义却是体现在将自我融入某个任务当中。生活的目的不在于找寻自我而在于放下自我。
But, especially this year, one is conscious of the many ways in which this year’s graduating class has been ill served by their elders. They enter a bad job market, the 1)hangover from decades of excessive borrowing. They inherit a 2)ruinous federal debt.
More important, their lives have been 3)perversely structured. This year’s graduates are members of the most supervised generation in American history. Through their childhoods and teenage years, they have been monitored, tutored, coached and 4)honed to an 5)unprecedented degree.
Yet upon graduation they will enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and 6)unstructured. Most of them will not quickly get married, buy a home and have kids, as previous generations did. Instead, they will confront amazingly diverse job markets, social landscapes and lifestyle 7)niches. Most will spend a decade wandering from job to job and 8)clique to clique, searching for a role.
No one would design a system of extreme supervision to prepare people for a decade of extreme openness. But this is exactly what has emerged in modern America. College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of
9)navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment requiring a different set of skills, which they have to figure out on their own.
Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole 10)baby-boomer 11)theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the 12)commencement addresses being broadcast on 13)C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the 14)litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.
But, of course, this 15)mantra misleads on nearly every front.
College grads are often sent out into the world amid 16)rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments—to a 17)spouse, a community and 18)calling—yet mostly hears about freedom and 19)autonomy.
Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.
Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life. A relative suffers from 20)Alzheimer’s and a young woman feels called to help cure that disease. A young man works under a miserable boss and must develop management skills so his department can function. Another young woman finds herself confronted by an opportunity she never thought of in a job category she never imagined. This wasn’t in her plans, but this is where she can make her contribution.
Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.
The graduates are also told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to 21)court unhappiness—the things they did that were 22)arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most.
Finally, graduates are told to be independent-minded and to express their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well often means suppressing yourself. As 23)Atul Gawande mentioned during his
24)countercultural address this May at Harvard Medical School, being a good doctor often means being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a 25)regimented 26)checklist.
Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are 27)egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.
在过去的五月份里，又有一届美国大学生走出学校踏入社会。他们都拥有无法估量的潜力和价值。相信大凡已届中年的明智之人都宁愿放弃自己所拥有的金钱回到22岁，重新开启人生之路。
然而，尤其是今年，毕业生四面受困，深受前辈遗祸之苦。他们步入的是一个惨淡的就业市场，要面对几十年来过度借贷所遗留下来的问题，还将承担毁灭性的联邦债务。
更重要的是，他们的生活被几近变态的条条框框束缚着，他们是美国有史以来受管教最多的一代。他们从小到大都要接受前所未有的监管、教导、训练和磨练。
然而，他们将要面对的是史上最开放自由的世界。他们中大部分人不会像上几代人那样很快就结婚、买房、生儿育女，而是要应对异常多样化的就业市场、社交圈子和生活定位。大部分人还将耗上近十年的时间跳槽、变换社交圈子、寻找自己的人生定位。
没有人会规划出一套严格极致的管教体制去训练人们应对未来十年极度开放的社会，但现代美国社会却恰恰出现了这种情况。大学生们成长于对人才技能有特定需求的社会环境里，等他们投身社会时，社会对人才技能却是另一套要求，而他们必须自己去掌握这些技能。
最糟糕的是，当他们踏足社会时，耳边回响的是婴儿潮一代的教条。你只需从有线—卫星公共事务网络上找一些毕业致辞来看一下就知道，他们教导毕业生们要“追随自己的激情，规划自己的人生，踏着自己人生钟鼓的节奏前进，追逐自己的梦想，找寻自我”。这些冗长的个人主义陈词，至今仍是美国文化的主流声音。
当然了，这样的调调带来的却几乎是方方面面的误导。
毕业生通常都是在宣扬一切皆有可能的激情演讲中走进社会，但这样的演讲对于长大成人所需要的主要经历毫无益处，也不利于人们找寻让自己安定下来的事业。成功的年轻人开始对他们的伴侣、对社会以及对自己的事业许下神圣的承诺。而那些承诺中充满了自由和自主的声音。
时下的毕业生们受到的教诲是“找寻激情，追求梦想”。这意味着他们首先要认识自我，然后才出发，去实现他们的追求。但是毫无疑问，年仅22或24岁的年轻人极少会内省，然后发现一个成熟的自我。
大多数成功的年轻人并不着眼于自我然后计划人生，而是放眼外界，发现问题，找到自己的使命所在。一位年轻女士的亲戚患上了老年痴呆症，她感到帮助病患痊愈是生活对她的召唤。一位年轻人有个难伺候的上司，而他必须掌握一些管理技能方能使得他的部门正常运作下去。又有一年轻女士由于一个难得的机会遇到她从没想象过的工作，这些都不在她的意料之中，但恰恰是她能作出贡献之处。
许多人并不是先自我定位再开展人生的。他们被某个问题所“召唤”并在这一过程中形成对自我的定位。
毕业生还被教导说要追求幸福和快乐。但是毫无疑问，当你阅读偶像的传记时，让你崇拜他们的并不是他们乐享之事，而是他们苦苦求索的艰辛努力，那些艰难悲惨的境况，有时还可能会因此失去朋友、引发仇恨。最让我们赞赏的是他们的卓越超群，而不是他们的悠游快意。
最后，毕业生还被教导要独立，勇于表达内心的主张。但是毫无疑问，要做好本分工作往往意味着要压抑自我。正如阿图·葛文德五月份在哈佛大学医学院所作的反主流文化演讲中所说的，要做一名优秀的医生常常意味着要融入团队，遵守医院的规矩，按严格的程序办事。
时下的毕业生沉浸在鼓吹以自我为生活中心的社会文化里。但是毫无疑问，随着年龄的增长，他们会发现生活的中心是各种任务。满足感只是人们完成这些任务所产生的副产品，并且无法直接获得。我们大部分人都很自我，在大多数时候都以自我为中心，但事实上生活的意义却是体现在将自我融入某个任务当中。生活的目的不在于找寻自我而在于放下自我。