"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
-John Lennon
This quote from John Lennon has become an iconic saying for its responsiveness. The meaning behind this phrase is that life does not happen randomly, but rather that it is the result of what we've done in the past and our intentions for the future. Therefore, life does not have a concrete beginning or end date because we are often creating these events as we go along. However, this viewpoint also exemplifies another key point: that there can be no control in life except by our own conscious decisions. We cannot simply let things happen to us because they are destined to unfold no matter how hard we try to prevent them from coming into fruition.
In the article "The John Lennon Mirage" written by David McNamee, the author portrays John's life as a form of self-destructive destiny. This commonly held belief in Lennon's life is that he was destined to die at such a young age. McNamee quotes Lennon in saying "There are many things I would like to do, but I simply haven't the time". This quote shows that even with early success and fame, there is a feeling of incompleteness for him that can never be fulfilled. This common theme throughout his life is one of inconsistent happiness and fulfillment, which eventually leads to his demise. McNamee concludes that life is not as simple as it seems, but rather that it is fueled by our subconscious beliefs about ourselves and the outcome of previous decisions.
Many people believe that life has an outcome, but rather than believing in a predetermined fate, one must create their own destiny using their conscious mind. Many different aspects of life can be controlled with the intention of applying thoughts and actions to achieve a goal. By making changes to your daily routine called micro-management, you can push towards achieving a personal goal in any area of your life. For example, by setting aside time during the day for exercise, you can get rid of undesirable habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol. Many people believe that these habits cannot be broken, but the truth is that by setting an intention to achieve a goal, you can gain control over your own life.
One example of this would be an experiment conducted by Ellen Langer called the "Counter Clockwise study". The study was conducted at Harvard University in 1979 as an investigation into age-related memory loss. Langer did this to test whether or not people could still remember words they had been shown years ago. It was a simple experiment in which participants were shown pictures of items and asked to label them on a sheet of paper immediately after seeing it. Then the participants were brought back several times over the course of weeks and asked to recreate their list from several weeks prior. It was found that the subjects were able to remember the pictures better on the first try than they had originally been shown in 1979. There were no gender differences in this study, and this could be due to the fact that Langer's experiment was based strictly on intention.
McNamee also states that we do not possess a fixed amount of time or energy that we can use and still be happy. Although it is not possible to predict what will happen to us in the future, there are many factors and events throughout our past which shape who we become today. These experiences help determine our current attachments which can lead to more fulfilling goals, but also have given rise to limiting beliefs about ourselves. The Pygmalion effect is a system in which one person's expectations make another feel as though they are responsible for their own self-image. This is a very common phenomenon that occurs when one is unaware of their subjective influence on others. These expectations do not have to be directed towards themselves, but can be applied to other people as well. For example, during the Counter Clockwise study, none of the participants knew that Langer was expecting them to remember. If no one had told them what she wanted from them, there would not have been such an improvement in performance. However, this illustrates the fact that just because we cannot predict what will happen does not mean it does not exist.
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