Career Advice from Mr. Stevens

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989.

And the film, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

So...

It's good.

I decided to read the book, initially hoping for insight into how to be professional while remaining true to my personal ethics.

And, Mr. Stevens did have some interesting theories on the subject.

Basically, he believes that...
"... our professional duty is not to our own foibles and sentiments, but to the wishes of our employer."

And,
"I believe strongly that this 'dignity' is something one can meaningfully strive for throughout one's career."

However,
"Continentals - and by and large the Celts, as you will no doubt agree - are as a rule unable to control themselves in moments of strong emotion, and are thus unable to maintain a professional demeanor other than in the least challenging of situations.

In a word, 'dignity' is beyond such persons."

So, being a "Continental" myself, particularly a "Celt"...

I'm doomed.

But, Mr. Stevens' advice is...
"There is little to be gained in growing despondent, however."

So true.

But, I can't help thinking about where I went wrong.

I can pinpoint the exact moment.

I was in college, and my advisor called me into his office, asked me to close the door, and said that I couldn't leave until I'd declared a major.

(He was right to insist that I declare a major - I think by that time I was a junior - had he not issued such an ultimatum, I might still be in college.)

But, I panicked. I took him very literally.

So, rather than take up permanent residence in his office, I thought back to the Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd movie I'd seen recently, and thought...

Finance!

I didn't know anything about Finance - until that day, I'd been taking mostly literature, philosophy and psychology courses.

But, I was (and remain) a very practical person, and knew that with a degree in Finance, I could "figure it out later". I mean - there are so many different areas within finance (banking, personal finance, corporate finance...).

And to date, I've tried them all.

And hated every last one of them.

But, according to Mr. Stevens...

"... when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one's past for such 'turning points', one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.

But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably drive oneself to distraction in this way.

But that doesn't mean to say, of course, there aren't occasions now and then - extremely desolate occasions - when you think to yourself: "What a terrible mistake I've made with my life."

And you get to thinking about a different life, a better life you might have had.

After all, there's no turning back the clock now. One can't be forever dwelling on what might have been. One should realize one has as good as most, perhaps better, and be grateful."

And most importantly...

"Don't keep looking back all the time, you're bound to get depressed.

You've got to enjoy yourself.

... adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished?"