Atelic Pursuits

For the philosopher Kieran Setiya, midlife is marked by “a disconcerting mixture of nostalgia, regret, claustrophobia, emptiness, and fear” and looking forward, he saw only “a projected sequence of accomplishments stretching through the future to retirement, decline, and death.” The solution to this conundrum can be found in Aristotle’s take on a life well-lived. For Aristotle, this was one which had a mix of telic and atelic goals. The former are activities done to achieve a specific objective. And when you align them to the values that drive you, you end up ‘flourishing’. But in his scheme of things, atelic goals had their own importance. The key is to consciously lead a life that provides these goals in the right proportion.

It’s a no-brainer that the pursuit of hobbies and activities that provide no tangible benefit is critical for a sense of well-being and experiencing moments of awareness of a life well-lived. Atelic goals are not projects. They are done for their own sake. They can be as mundane as taking a walk, being kind, drawing, listening to music or playing say, with Lego.

Over the past few months, I spent close to a hundred hours building a 4000-piece model brick set. The piece was a rip-off of a Lego Technic model, which I snapped up for a bargain during a work-trip to Bangkok. What really surprised me was the weird mix of a feeling of being in flow accompanied by a creeping sense of anxiety with each hour spent pondering over the pieces and the instructions. It was nothing short of meditative and a much-needed diversion to slow down and get used to ‘doing nothing’. I think I should build at least one a year henceforth. With mid-life round the corner, why not!