We're launching a new line at work and we were building samples to send to the customer. As I was numbering the parts I started thinking about the timeline to launch a new car. Time for design, finding suppliers, supplier design, supplier startup, oem (original equipment manufacturer) startup... Then I started thinking about the designers. Right now my job is about 1/3 right now, 1/3 within a month or two and 1/3 next summer/late next year. But vehicle designers work years in advance. They're never dealing with now. While it would be exciting to see and be a part of what's coming down the pipeline, it also made me wonder.
So many of the keys to happiness seem to involve living, as in, actually actively *being* and *participating* in the present - not clinging to or fixating on the past, not obsessing about the future. I know working isn't living, but if you spend all your time thinking, planning, working on 3 years from now, not seeing the fruits of your labour for years, forever looking to the future, and never really having to focus on right now, does it have some sort of impact? Can you spend all day, every (work) day thinking about 2007, and switch back to 2004 at the end of the day without missing a beat? If you're spending over a third of your life 3-4 years ahead of yourself, are you somehow losing a part of those 3-4 years of your life? Is it kind of similar to how wishing for the weekend to come is like wishing away days of your life?
I doubt it's that complicated. It's probably just a job/career - and a potentially exciting/interesting one at that. But, still, I wonder...
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One of our companies is an OEM for a major automotive company, so we deal in the future (well, I don't, but I see it). Right now I think we are planning for 2007 model year. I used to think that was really odd, but honestly, it's not like you are thinking the year is 2007 while you're at work. But I still think it's weird to be planning something that far in the future. ;-)
Berk here - I'm planning on moving to Canada with Mr. Berk and lil Berk sometime in the near future! Get ready ;).
Thanks for all your blogging, I'm really enjoying it all and do check in every couple of days. *sigh* I miss my Cordy all care free and going where the wind takes here. Let me know if you head to Savannah or Charleston - not even sick hubby could keep me away from that... I'll bring lil Berk if I have to!
Take Care!
Well, you see, if you spend 1/3 of your day living 3 years into the future, 3 years from now you will have already lived 1/3 of that day. So then you can spend it 3 years into the future again (6 years away if you follow) without costing you anything. And so on and so on. This repeats until you retire. Then the problem comes up - if you have already lived 1/3 of your retirement days, what do you spend those days doing? Reliving your youth! Those first three years on the job when you hadn't spent the 1/3 of the day yet. Now you can make it up once you retire. So it all works out in the end.
Unless you die before you've been retired for three years. That would be a bummer.
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