Are You Optimizing for Interesting
Passion is something we think we know a lot about. We believe that when we fall in love it should be passionate.
BUT often we tend to apply the word wrongly. One example is when passion is directed in the advice we give out regarding careers. Something like, “If you just follow your passion you will never work a day in your life.”
BUT this advice specifically is very hard to follow and often wrong.
Most people are good at doing several things and they do not have a “one” thing that they are outstanding in. One of my latest articles talked about this idea.
I believe that things happen to us and for us every day. Some of those things pull us and other ones push us. The things that push us are often the things we do not want to do. We might not have an option on those.
But the things that pull us often pull us because we find them interesting. Most likely, one of the reasons that they pull us is because they align with our strengths. They feel more natural for us. These are the things that we should consider working on and possibly turning into our one thing.
I believe that most people, during most days, are not aware of where their time is invested. They blindly move from one thing to another while looking busy.
Let us define time as either ALIVE or DEAD time. Alive time is the time that pulls you and you are working on something interesting and of value. Dead time is simply time you are wasting. (Note: the idea of alive and dead time was shared by Robert Greene to Ryan Holiday)
Don’t get me wrong. There is a purpose for dead time. Sometimes you are so burned out from thinking that doing something meaningless is useful to unwind.
When you make a conscious choice to move towards an ALIVE time, it is when you optimize for interesting and you will find your flow and energy refilled. You will see your “purpose” revealed a lot more clearly.
Why is this important?
We all have one precious life. As poet Mary Oliver asks us, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I would modify it into, “Tell me, what is interesting TO you to do with your one wild and precious life, that will make a dent in the universe?”
Hopefully, your answer is interesting.
My four cents…
