Many of the great people in history have said they experienced some kind of force or voice or a sense of destiny that guided them to take action at some point and changed the course of their lives. For example, Napoleon Bonaparte believed there was a ”star” in the sky that guided him to make the right move during military campaigns. For his part, Johann Goethe, the German statesman, also believed there was a “spirit” guiding him to fulfill his destiny. In more recent times, Albert Einstein talked about a kind of “inner voice” that guided the direction of his thinking. All of these are examples of what Leonardo da Vinci called “having a sense of fate.” Today, we call it having a “sense of purpose.”
While most people perceive such feelings as spiritual experiences, more and more social scientists nowadays are beginning to understand that such feelings are, in fact, practical signs of a person’s unique traits. Scientists agree that all of us are born unique, and that such uniqueness is first observed in the kinds of questions children ask in order to find answers about their immediate world. Scientists believe that the kinds of questions children ask reveal their natural abilities. As children go through schooling, that tendency to ask questions disappears and is replaced by information and knowledge that people use in order to pass tests and navigate through life.
Scientists believe that failing to cultivate one’s sense of fate can lead people off on a dangerous path. After twenty years of study, researchers at Harvard University concluded that when adults fail to develop a sense of direction to guide the course of their lives, many end up choosing jobs that do not suit them. Gradually, the same people develop mental problems associated with depression and a lack of self-worth.
In the book “Mastery,” writer Robert Greene explains that the process of finding one’s sense of purpose happens in three stages: first, people need to reconnect with the curiosity they experienced as children and rediscover their sense of uniqueness. Second, once the connection has been established, people need to re-evaluate the choices they have made in life regarding career, hobbies, partner, and current job. This stage can be very difficult for most people because it can lead them to make life-changing decisions. Finally, people need to change the way they see their career and life, going from a straight line to a journey with surprises and learn to plan for such events.
Some 2,600 years ago the ancient Greek poet Pindar wrote, “Become who you are by learning who you are.” What he meant is the following: You are born with particular set of qualities and talents that, if developed, can guide the course and quality of your life. If you listen to that inner voice and work at cultivating your natural talents, you can become the person you are meant to be: a Master.
問
Write an essay about the following topic:
The article explains different ways to develop a sense of purpose in life. Of the ways the author identifies to develop a sense of purpose in life, which do you think are the most useful to you personally, and why?
A successful essay:
1. Has at least 300words(minimum)
2. Has at least four paragraphs(minimum) including an introduction and a conclusion
3. Answers the question(s) being asked with a clearly stated main idea/opinion
4. Includes relevant examples from your own knowledge and/or experience
5. Does not quote directly from the reading text
Your essay will be evaluated on content, organization, vocabulary and grammatical usage.
What Robert Greene describes is the most useful and reasonable to me. This writer divides the process of finding our sense of purpose in life into three stages. Each stage is a crucial phase of life when we reflect on our life and have to overcome difficulty in it.
First of all, it is rather easy for us to accept the idea that all of us are born with our uniqueness. When we are young children, we are very creative because we are free from any social obligations and rules. For instance, even when I played a game with my friends, we would often add a new rule to it in our own way. The only rule among us was “everything is OK.” However, through education and discipline at home and school, our creativity diminishes as time goes by. Therefore, as Greene explains that the discovery of the curiosity we had in childhood makes us realize our unique characteristics, I believe it can be applied to most of us.
Then, to review our life and find out what we really favored in our childhood is useful to make a good decision. In the course of life, a life-changing moment urges us to make a big decision. In my case, right before I graduated from junior high school, I had to choose which high school I should go to. I was nearly convinced by my homeroom teacher to go to a local high school some of my classmates were going to. However, I was not persuaded to do so because I remembered I had been fascinated by music since my early childhood. After careful thought, I decided to learn music overseas. Now I am sure that I have found what I like from the bottom of my heart.
Luckily, once we find what we really like, we can pursue it no matter what may happen. As Greene implies, in the final stage, we need to alter our previous views and venture into a journey. Actually, I encountered numerous obstacles while I stayed abroad. Racial prejudice and language barriers, however, never hindered me from being enthusiastic about music, though I sometimes felt solitude in my classroom. I was vulnerable to harsh remarks and critical comments from my friends when I was in my country. On the contrary, I was able to withstand whatever happened to me here because I was totally preoccupied with music. Now I can navigate the course of my life.
I really appreciate the way Greene classifies each stage of gaining a sense of purpose in life. Starting with the common background most of us share as childhood memory, this author moves to a tense moment we need to change our view of life and then eventually we launch our exploration in life. It could not be a better guideline for all of us to acquire our sense of purpose in life. We can be a Master of our life!
(使用単語数491語)
What Robert Greene describes is the most useful and reasonable to me. This writer divides the process of finding our sense of purpose in life into three stages. Each stage is a crucialphase of life when we reflect on our life and have to overcome difficulty in it.
First of all, it is rather easy for us to accept the idea that all of us are born with our uniqueness. When we are young children, we are very creative because we are free from any social obligations and rules. For instance, even when I played a game with my friends, we would often add a new rule to it in our own way. The only rule among us was “everything is OK.” However, through education and discipline at home and school, our creativity diminishes as time goes by. Therefore, as Greene explains that the discovery of the curiosity we had in childhood makes us realize our unique characteristics, I believe it can be applied to most of us.
Then, to review our life and find out what we really favored in our childhood is useful to make a good decision. In the course of life, a life-changing moment urges us to make a big decision. In my case, right before I graduated from junior high school, I had to choose which high school I should go to. I was nearly convinced by my homeroom teacher to go to a local high school some of my classmates were going to. However, I was not persuaded to do so because I remembered I had been fascinated by music since my early childhood. After careful thought, I decided to learn music overseas. Now I am sure that I have found what I like from the bottom of my heart.
Luckily, once we find what we really like, we can pursue it no matter what may happen. As Greene implies, in the final stage, we need to alter our previousviews and venture into a journey. Actually, I encounterednumerousobstacles while I stayed abroad. Racialprejudice and language barriers, however, never hindered me from being enthusiastic about music, though I sometimes felt solitude in my classroom. I was vulnerable to harshremarks and criticalcomments from my friends when I was in my country. On the contrary, I was able to withstand whatever happened to me here because I was totally preoccupied with music. Now I can navigate the course of my life.
I really appreciate the way Greene classifies each stage of gaining a sense of purpose in life. Starting with the common background most of us share as childhood memory, this author moves to a tense moment we need to change our view of life and then eventually we launch our exploration in life. It could not be a better guideline for all of us to acquire our sense of purpose in life. We can be a Master of our life!
Luckily, once we find what we really like, we can pursue it no matter what may happen. As Greene implies, in the final stage, we need to alter our previous views and venture into a journey. Actually, I encountered numerous obstacles while I stayed abroad. Racial prejudice and language barriers, however, never kept me from being enthusiastic about music, though I sometimes felt loneliness in my classroom. I was vulnerable to harsh remarks and critical comments from my friends when I was in my country. On the contrary, I was able to bear whatever happened to me here because I was totally absorbedin music. Now I can navigate the course of my life.
What Robert Greene describes is the most useful and reasonable to me. This writer divides the process of finding our sense of purpose in life into three stages. Each stage is a crucial aspect of life when we reflect on our life and have to overcome difficulty in it.
First of all, it is rather easy for us to accept the idea that all of us are born with our uniqueness. When we are young children, we are very creative because we are free from any social duties and rules. For instance, even when I played a game with my friends, we would often add a new rule to it in our own way. The only rule among us was “everything is OK.” However, through education and discipline at home and school, our creativity decreases as time goes by. Therefore, as Greene explains that the discovery of the curiosity we had in childhood makes us realize our unique characteristics, I believe it can be applied to most of us.
Then, to review our life and find out what we really favored in our childhood is useful to make a good decision. In the course of life, a life-changing moment urges us to make a big decision. In my case, right before I graduated from junior high school, I had to choose which high school I should go to. I was nearly convinced by my homeroom teacher to go to a local high school some of my classmates were going to. However, I was not persuaded to do so because I remembered I had been fascinated by music since my early childhood. After careful thought, I decided to learn music overseas. Now I am sure that I have found what I like from the bottom of my heart.
Luckily, once we find what we really like, we can pursue it no matter what may happen. As Greene implies, in the final stage, we need to alter our previous views and jump into a journey. Actually, I encountered numerous troubles while I stayed abroad. Racial prejudice and language barriers, however, never kept me from being eagerfor music, though I sometimes felt loneliness in my classroom. I was weakagainstsevereopinions and critical comments from my friends when I was in my country. On the contrary, I was able to bear whatever happened to me here because I was totally absorbedin music. Now I can guide the course of my life.
I really appreciate the way Greene divides each stage of gaining a sense of purpose in life. Starting with the common background most of us share as childhood memory, this author moves to anemergent moment we need to change our view of life and then eventually we launch our exploration in life. It could not be a better guideline for all of us to acquire our sense of purpose in life. We can be a Master of our life!
