At the same time, it's the opening weekend of the National Football League, the most popular and most watched sport in the United States. People will build entire Sunday schedules (me included) around it. Some will spend many many hours scouting players for their fantasy football team. And after our favorite team plays (or before) we'll watch a game that doesn't really mean anything to us just because it's football and it feels like the thing to do. All of this for a game.
For the PhD depressed (and anyone for that matter) take some time this weekend to visit both ends of the spectrum. Call Mom or Dad or a brother or sister, or someone else important to you. These are the people who can really help you if you're feeling down, and maybe hearing from you can pick them up. And after you're done that, watch some football, even if you don't like it. Here's a reason for those who like and those who don't like:
- If you like football, you don't need a reason. Celebrate football.
- If you don't like football, watch a game and revel in how dumb it is. Make a list of how dumb it is. Call one of your friends who likes football and explain to them how dumb it is. Etc.
In either case, you'll feel better afterwards, and maybe you'll have a fresh perspective for your Phd work on Monday. And if you don't have a chance this weekend, there's always Monday Night Football!
Also thought I might add some music to the weekend wisdom posts, and what better music for this weekend than the classic music of NFL Films. Whatever you might think about the NFL or football or sports, you really need to check out these songs. It's a compilation CD of songs made for NFL Films. My favorite is The Lineman (
,Amazon
), but they're all great. Here's a link to the whole album, called Selections from Autumn Thunder: 40 Years of NFL Films Music:Amazon
-TA
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