Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities, but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant. – Charles A. Cerami
I wonder about this. Albert Einstein and Joe DiMaggio would seem to qualify for the label of ‘greatness’ in our culture, but their achievements (and those of many of our other so-called heroes) masked major problems in other areas of their lives. These were not guys living lives of personal fulfillment and real satisfaction. If the ‘driving enthusiasm’ is wrapped in ego and other problems that they don’t attend to, then I’m not sure they’re worth emulating.
I know it’s unrealistic for our media culture to celebrate men and women living balanced lives unless they also achieve greatness in some category. But for me, I don’t see any other way to approach it other than balance first. I’ve gotten out of whack the past couple of weeks with too much racquetball. This week, I’ve played ping pong twice with my daughter and started a novel. And I feel a helluva lot better.