Achieving peak personal contribution

[Donatas Kaulinis]

(I outlined my questions because this is a rather long text?)

The next year as I think about it right now should be the time when I will make a firm decision about what course of life I'm going to follow.

The upcoming year I will live my life as I have never done before. I'm going to try acting, stand-up comedy, journalism and debating. All of these I'm afraid to try. And yet I've had a desire for such activity for quite some time. Oh, and the upcoming year is 10 days from now (I'm writing about school year). I just realized that I should've read about it a lot more than I did. Well, I'll start right now.

The problem for me is contribution. Wouldn't I be contributing a lot more if I would become a surgeon, a psychologist, humanitarian/human rights activist? Surely a life saved or education provided to some one living in empowerished country with some sort of help from me is a greater contribution than people who laughed.

Of course one could argue that you could provide a lot more value to the world by acting or writing for some news organization/participating in investigative journalism in some cases. But I think that acting, doing stand-up or being a journalist generaly isn't the best way to make real changes for people who need them. A great play or a movie can inspire a person to become better and bring joy to the fans. But I'm pretty sure it would rarely if ever help make real lasting positive improvement to the people. It all comes down to personal responsibility...

I think I just had an epiphany while writing this. It all comes down to personal responsibility... so it's not the movie's or comedy's job to change someone. It is up to them. Wow. But this raises another dilema. Is acting, stand - up or journalism the best way to raise awareness of this truth? And yet another question... medicine "merely" helps the physical body... so isn't it in theory a more worthy pursuit to rise awareness of healthy lifestyles and their benefits than to be a doctor in some cases?

I wish to make the greatest positive contribution to other people arround me in my lifetime but it is really difficult to find an answer to the question: what is more worthy?

And a side question involving passion. Don't you think that it would be the right choice to become say a doctor instead of a person who makes pottery, even though you loved pottery ever since you were a child?

How do you contirbute to society and why did you choose to contribute in that particular way?

[Lioness]

I struggled with this question too because I believe we are an over-entertained society. Do we really need another comedian or actor? It would benefit society more to have more doctors, scientific researchers, etc. I also feel that it is just easier to do something in the arts. Are too many people taking the easier path?

On the other hand, is it more beneficial to have a mediocre doctor or a truly inspired performer? A great performing artist can impact more people in need than a lone doctor can. They have raised millions of dollars for aid to disaster areas, cancer research etc. You can be an entertainer AND a great humanitarian.

I'm going to try acting, stand-up comedy, journalism and debating. All of these I'm afraid to try. And yet I've had a desire for such activity for quite some time.

This is a big clue that this is where your passion is. You can also pursue your acting/comedy on the side and try medicine as your primary profession. The only reason I would discourage journalism is that it's a saturated field, print newspapers are dying. e-media and broadcast journalism jobs are so scarce, I just don't think a degree in journalism is a good investment right now.

[Clint Cora]

I think one should contribute to society in the way that he/she uses natural talents. Not all people have the aptitude for medicine. For example, in my own case, I don't like blood and guts. So medicine would not be a good fit for me. There are other ways to contribute.

I don't agree with your assessment of the comedy and acting roles. I think these are necessary roles in our society since we need entertainment.

Go with what your passions, natural abilities and gut feeling tell you. Then just use those in areas where you can contribute to society. It's not a contest of which profession can contribute more to.

[Karanime]

That's a very interesting question. I currently have before me the option of becoming either a pharmacy technician or a musician. Originally, I had the thought to become a full-blown pharmacist, but I feel the schooling takes too long, whereas making music (and working with the other arts as well) can start right now.

While becoming a pharmacy technician means I can help people get their medication, I can only help as many people as come through my pharmacy. I am simply sustaining a system. Doctors, nurses, etc., they all sustain the system. I think the only time we need more of these people is if we have a shortage (and I'd say we do).

But the much greater contributions come from two fields: first, research science. If you enjoy one of the sciences to the point where you begin asking questions that have no answers, then research science is an excellent choice, and has the potential to help the entire world, not just a handful of people.

The second field is the arts. While certain applications of the arts don't seem to do much, artists work within mediums that have the potential to reach the entire world, regardless of whether they reach this potential or not. Music is one of the most powerful; it seems the most capable of touching our souls. And it's within art that we ask the social questions that have no answer, and artists make it a point to explore these concepts.

I admit, it's easy to go into the arts and just doodle to your heart's content, but it's difficult, in any field, to ask the questions that have not yet been answered, and then set about answering them. Regarding human nature, that process is called art. Regarding the mechanics of the universe, that process is called science.

So in seeking peak personal contribution, will you become an artist or a scientist?

/<3

[SatvikBeri]

In addition to your career, who you are has a significant impact on the people around you. This might actually be a bigger impact than whatever you do in your career, because the effect you have on each person is so much larger. So a major part of your contribution to the world *is* how happy you are: if you're unhappy in your field, that will negatively affect the people closest to you.

As long as you're doing something that has a moderate potential for value, I would focus more on what makes you happy. Not to mention that how much you enjoy something will have a big impact on how skilled you become, and an awesome comedian contributes more happiness to the world than a crappy doctor.