📘 Part 3: Goals and Ambitions

This episode's vocabulary

Inertia (noun) – A tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. → If a person doesn't have any goals, they can end up floating along on inertia.

Prioritize (verb) – To decide which of a group of things are the most important so that you can deal with them first. → It's good to have goals so you can prioritize and lead a good life.

On your own terms (idiom) – In the way that you want; according to your own wishes. → Having goals allows you to lead a good life on your own terms.

Do well for oneself (phrase) – To become successful, especially financially. → A good society is a place where people want to live and do well for themselves.

Wind up (phrasal verb) – To find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do. → Societies can wind up having some pretty skewed priorities.

Skewed (adjective) – Not accurate or exact; biased towards one particular group or subject. → If you focus too much on one thing, you might have skewed priorities.

Serve someone's interests (phrase) – To be helpful or beneficial to someone. → The priorities of the elite don't always serve everyone's interests.

Bring to fruition (idiom) – To make a plan, project, or dream happen or be completed. → You need to gather resources to bring your goals to fruition.

Sophisticated (adjective) – Having a good understanding of the way people behave or a good knowledge of culture and fashion. → Young people usually have less sophisticated goals compared to adults.

Get by (phrasal verb) – To be able to live or deal with a situation with difficulty, usually by having just enough of something you need. → Some young people are just trying to get by at school.

The better part of (idiom) – Most of something. → I've spent the better part of a decade listening to young people.

Left to their own devices (idiom) – To allow someone to do what they want without being helped or controlled by anyone. → There are some times when children can be left to their own devices.

Guide someone through something (phrasal verb) – To help someone understand or deal with a process. → For a major life choice, helping guide them through that process is the responsible thing to do.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do people need to have goals?

Rory: They should have some idea of the direction their lives and efforts are heading in. Otherwise, it's difficult to see the point and they just end up floating on inertia basically.

Maria: And can you explain it further?

Rory: Yeah, it's probably good so you can prioritize and lead a good life on your own terms and not just do what other people tell you to. Otherwise, you might get depression or something because you have no control over your life.

Maria: What goals should a society have?

Rory: Ideally ones that benefit everyone in said society. So, building a place where people want to live and do well for themselves. But that's very general. How that actually looks will depend on the culture being focused on.

Maria: Has that always been true?

Rory: No. Unfortunately, the influence of elites and other groups means that societies can wind up having some pretty skewed or messed up priorities that don't serve everyone. They focus more on niche interests.

Maria: What should people do to achieve their goals?

Rory: They need to identify them first, then develop a plan to reach them and gather the resources to bring them to fruition. It sounds simple, but that's a lot of work probably.

Maria: Do you think that can change?

Rory: I suppose the way they go about it might, but the overall process probably won't. It's pretty straightforward.

Maria: What goals do young people usually have?

Rory: Probably less sophisticated ones compared to adults, but their needs and wants are a bit more basic. They could be things like making friends or being popular and trying to do well or at least get by at school in various ways.

Maria: What evidence do you have for that?

Rory: Just my own experience of being a teacher and listening to young people for the better part of a decade.

Maria: Is it necessary to give advice to children?

Rory: Not always. I'm sure there are some times when they can be left to their own devices, but if it's something serious, like a major life choice, then helping guide them through that process is definitely the responsible thing to do.

Maria: Will this also be true in the future?

Rory: As long as kids are less experienced than adults, I would imagine so, yeah.