Perspectives

“your passion” may be misleading you

by Paul Joo

There is a lot of well-intended talk about the critical importance of “finding your passion”, “being passionate about what you are doing”, and “the key to success is to do what you are passionate about”.

But I’ve noticed that many people often get stressed out when they are unable to immediately identify said “passion” in their own lives. And many of them are even assailed by doubts that they may not ever have a “passion”, and so may be consigned to a life less rich.

Having given this a great deal of thought and examination, I’ve come to this conclusion: While “being passionate” about what you’re doing is always nice, it’s not really that important.

I’ve discovered that – for me, anyway – the most important thing to achieve is “being passionate” about WHY you’re doing whatever you have chosen or will choose to do!

In fact, here is a simple breakdown of what I see as the optimal priorities when it comes to your “finding your passion”:

  1. Be passionate about WHY you care about _____.
  1. Be passionate about HOW you do _____.
  2. Be passionate about WHAT you do _____.

So if you ever find yourself stuck & frustrated in the search for your true “passion” in life, I recommend you ponder this bit of Zen wisdom: “When you seek it, you cannot find it.”

Instead of wearing yourself out trying to “find your passion”, why not try devoting your thoughts to WHY you care about whatever it is you find yourself really caring about. Once you’ve got that figured, it is more than likely that your “passion” will soon find you.  🙂

 

Perspectives

would you rather work smart or work hard?

by Paul Joo

Chances are pretty good that over the years you’ve heard a lot of advice on the values & benefits of “working hard”. I know I certainly have, so I won’t deluge you with more of the same.

Instead, I’d like to offer an observation that may warrant some thoughtful consideration:

  • Working hard generally gets great results for OTHERS – which can be nice.
  • Working smart gets great results for YOU – which can determine your future.

You pick.

 

Perspectives

choose to challenge rather than struggle

by Paul Joo

While I generally don’t condone foisting one’s beliefs on others, I offer a bit of wisdom that I believe ought to be shared with every person whenever possible. Further, I strongly recommend you consider it of paramount importance if you are a parent.

Here it is:  Life is about challenge, NOT struggle!

What’s the difference?

STRUGGLE is a state. It has no discernible beginning, middle, or end. It is by nature endless and timeless. It has neither particular entrance nor escape. It is a state in which one simply finds oneself, without any clear view of how one arrived. As a core belief, it is a breeding ground for lifelong feelings of powerlessness and futility.

CHALLENGE, on the other hand, is an event or circumstance. It has a discernible beginning, middle, and end. Because every challenge is by nature finite, its parameters can be understood, and so ultimate victory is always possible no matter how difficult circumstances may be.

When people are conditioned by example, religion, or experience with the core belief that Life is a series of struggles, they become weak, frustrated, and hopeless. Even if they make a Herculean effort to live better, inherent feelings of futility just end up burning them out from the inside, and they suffer unduly.

Conversely, when people are conditioned to perceive Life as a series of challenges to be met, understood, and conquered, they become strong, confident, healthy, whole, and more inclined to behave as truly human beings. They feel better, live better, do better, and treat one another better. They are likely to become a credit to themselves, society, and the human race.

I would ask that you pay very close attention to whether – consciously or not – you are communicating the message that Life is about enduring struggles, or the message that Life is about meeting challenges. Big difference.

You never know, the life you save might very well be your own.

Perspectives

do you really want “better”? okay…

by Paul Joo

Everyone wants to both FEEL good and DO well. But our emotional “logic” can often lead us astray from the very result we seek. Here’s an example.

When people FEEL lousy, they generally don’t DO so well. So they naturally focus their attention on trying to FEEL better. This appears to make sense – “…when I FEEL better I DO better”.

Unfortunately, this is not often a reality. Instead, what most often happens is that they get stuck trying to make themselves FEEL better. It’s like trying to fall asleep – the more you tell yourself “Fall asleep NOW! I really need to sleep! C’mon sleep!”, the wider awake you end up. Same thing with trying to FEEL better. Doesn’t work.

Then what does work? Trying to KNOW better.

Here’s a simple yet powerful pattern that you need to realize: When you KNOW better, you DO better. And when you DO better, you naturally FEEL better – about yourself, the world, everything!

And here’s a bonus: Once you FEEL better, you are even more inclined to want to KNOW better. And when you KNOW better you are even more inclined to DO better, which of course makes you FEEL even better.

Terrifically positive cycle, eh? Give it a try.

Perspectives

think your way beyond disappointments

by Paul Joo

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know how to avoid being disappointed in other people. Really wish I did, but I don’t.

However, I can offer some guidance on how to avoid the awful morass of being disappointed in yourself. I say “awful morass”, but I could just as well call it a trap or a cesspit, because once you set foot on the path of feeling disappointed in yourself, the inescapable swamp of self-pity is just around the corner.

Fortunately, that trap is completely avoidable. Because you have an extraordinarily powerful weapon at your disposal with which to obliterate self-disappointment whenever you may feel it coming on. And that weapon is Critical Thinking.

The reason why Critical Thinking is so all-powerful is that it provides you with both motivation and guidance – at the same time! Guidance in that it focuses your attention on objectively & effectively considering precisely what expectation you feel disappointed in not meeting. And clean motivation because you are taking control, which is an excellent way to avoid self-pity and gain ascendancy over any set of sub-optimal circumstances.

As an added bonus, Critical Thinking gives you insights into how to improve, remedy, or just learn from whatever situation that prompted you to feel disappointed in the first place. Wow. And in case you’re worried that you have to be an Einstein to use Critical Thinking, fear not, because it isn’t about how well you use it, just that you do use it. Period.

So go forth and think critically! 🙂

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