2007.07.20 Aptitude and Inclination

I find myself looking all around at the people who occupy various niches in society and wondering how they got there, and speculating about the relative satisfaction of being in such situations. I personally would probably find most walks of life much less pleasant than the one I've wriggled myself into, but I can readily imagine how one could end up in paths alternate to mine. And, if you look carefully, there's usually some demographic of a particular niche that seem to really thrive being there.

This lead me to formulate a theory about how people's lives progress. And, when I say "theory", I mean "I'm probably just talking out of my ass" - I'm just not inclined to conduct a survey of sufficient N to construct an actual statistical basis for my theory. Which, oddly, actually serves as a segue into the theory.

There's an awful lot of possible paths for people's lives to take, even given any one particular starting point. While there certainly is some aspect of chance involved with what choices are available, the way these choices are made is often dependant upon each individual's set of aptitude and inclination. By aptitude I'm referring to what a person is - or can be - good at, often an ever-expanding set of proficiencies. And by inclination I'm referring to drives to do certain things, though not necessarily conscious or internal drives.

So, considering virtually any member of humanity, as they've progressed through life they've been presented with various circumstances to pick changes in life path - however slight. Most people tend to be drawn towards doing things they know they have an aptitude for, or towards things that they have an inclination to do. These actions are cumulative overall, and I think they determine our lives more than we generally realize.

Looking at the idea from the opposite perspective, I also think you can conclude a lot about how satisfying someone's life is by determining the degree to which their aptitudes and inclinations mesh with their current circumstance. Especially with regard to their employment. When people have little aptitude or positive inclination to be in a job, it's probably pretty miserable for them. They're probably in that position because of something fundamentally unpleasant - like fear or hunger. Alternately, for people that have both an aptitude and an inclination for a particular job, it can be extremely rewarding. There are people who have a job for which they have an aptitude but little inclination; these are the weary wage-slaves who struggle to find fulfillment in their work. There's also people who do things purely because they have an inclination to do so, without regard for their lack of aptitude. These are either dreamers doing something they think is romantic, or rich fools who are allowed their dalliances because they can afford it.

You know, after parsing out this whole aptitude and inclination stuff, it seems to leave behind a set of basic extrapolations. After you make the necessary nod to and peace with the vise-like grip random chance has on everybody's lives, the assumption that aptitude and inclination drive the directions of our lives means that being aware of them and able to work with them is extremely important. You can start to see how every day is another set of dance steps, waltzing and jigging towards and away from our poles of strength and weakness, hope and resignation. And that there is overall progress made, slowly determining the tilt of your whole life.

The part that makes me pause is wondering to what degree we can actually pick our aptitudes and inclinations, and how much of it is purely self-discovery. Either way, if I'm right, it's pretty important to figure out.