Zerosophy Archives - Page 58 of 96

“Do not follow your passion.”

August 26, 2015 by Zero Dean

[This was originally written as a response to a post by Wojtek Skalski on Medium.]

Every so often someone likes to challenge “Follow your passion” by suggesting that people shouldn’t (Huffington Post | Wojtek Skalski). And that’s fine.

But it’s important to realize that there is rarely a single approach to life that works best for all people.

“Do not follow your passion.” suggests that countless wise and successful people who have advised it are wrong. And that isn’t necessarily the case.

Because for at least some, follow your passion is the answer.

But whether it involves pursuing one’s passions or not, folks who dispense life advice would likely be far wiser offering open-minded suggestions than absolutes.

Neither is necessarily bad advice. It simply depends on what one’s source of motivation and values are in life.

Success can be defined and measured in many ways.

Not everyone measures wealth with money. Not everyone wants to lead a conventional life. And not everyone has the courage to go after what they truly want.

Whether a person ultimately succeeds at turning their passion into a sustainable career or not, one thing is for certain, they will no longer live with the regret of never having tried.

What is one of the primary purposes of life if not to continually reaching out for newer, richer, deeper, life-changing experiences?

People who don’t think that involves pursuing one’s passions may be successful at what they do, but at the expense of being truly fulfilled by it.

Video: Why you will fail to have a great career | Larry Smith |TED

Related:

If the results of your habits don’t make you better…

August 25, 2015 by Zero Dean

Excerpt from: The strength in tolerance and kindness

If the results of your habits don’t make you a better, stronger, or healthier person, it’s time to consider new habits that do.

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” — Carlos Castaneda

Related:

Weaknesses are a leaky boat

August 24, 2015 by Zero Dean

This post is a follow-up to: What are you weaknesses?

Consider for a moment that you are a boat.

I know it sounds silly, but do it.

You are a boat. And your life is an ocean.

With the proper skills, attitude, and approach you can navigate to wherever you wish to go.

But how quickly & easily you get to your desired destination depends not only on how efficiently you operate — and how resilient you are to challenges you encounter along the way — but on the overall integrity of your vessel.

In other words, how well you do in life depends a lot on how well you can handle and navigate less than desirable circumstances.

Now consider that your weaknesses are like leaks in the hull of this boat.

Under normal circumstances — and if the leaks are small — one can often bail out water quickly enough to keep their boat afloat.

Now, because a boat with leaks takes more energy to manage than one without, the ideal approach is to locate and plug as many leaks as possible.

The more leaks that one can plug, the more efficiently the boat will float and the less one feels the negative effects of the leaks that remain.

In short, identifying one’s weakness and then working on ways to overcome them makes one’s life more manageable.

On the flip side, if the leaks in one’s boat become too prevalent — perhaps while navigating a stormy sea — one’s vessel will take in water faster than one can bail it out.

And whether we’re talking about leaks or personal weaknesses here, not being able to manage them effectively can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, helpless, and depressed.

So you can see why identifying and actively working on one’s weaknesses can be beneficial and empowering.

How to overcome weaknesses is beyond the scope of this post, but it should help to point out that the more that one can identify their weaknesses, triggers, and bad habits, the more that they can make a conscious effort to reduce them.

The more a person makes a conscious effort to reduce the impact of their weaknesses, the more they’re able to direct their life where they want it go.

The more control a person gains over their self, the more control they gain over their life. The more control a person has over their life, the happier they tend to be.

One of the biggest steps toward gaining control over one’s life is gaining control over one’s self.

Plug your leaks.

(And if you can’t plug them, at least learn ways to minimize them).

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” — Carlos Castaneda

Related:

What are your weaknesses?

August 22, 2015 by Zero Dean

This post has a follow-up here: Weaknesses are a leaky boat

What are your weaknesses? Have you thought about this?

Knowing what your weaknesses are is a major step towards gaining power over various aspects of your life that may often seem beyond your control.

Whether your weaknesses are exploited by others or simply ways in which you unwittingly sabotage your ambitions, your relationships or yourself, your weaknesses will continue to have power over you until you gain power over them.

Many of a person’s weaknesses are disguised as bad habits. They manifest themselves in actions we often perform without thinking.

The good news is that because they’re habits, we can choose to replace them with better behaviors.

Bad habits can be difficult to break, but if you plan on living a long, healthy, and prosperous life, don’t you owe it to yourself to make a conscious effort to improve the things in your life that you have the power to control?

When you make improving yourself in meaningful ways a priority in your life, you not only improve your life as a result of those priorities, you begin to make a positive difference in the lives of those around you.

Good behavior inspires good behavior.

___

What are your weaknesses?

What are the triggers that cause you to act in ways that are contrary to the person you want to be?

What are the things you do without thinking that are having a negative impact on your life, your health, your career, or your relationships?

If you’ve never given these questions any thought, you not only leave yourself open to self-sabotaging behavior, you are vulnerable to being exploited by others.

Common self-defeating behaviors:

Quick to anger
Easily frustrated
Feelings of self-pity
Low self-esteem
Oversensitive
Lack of self-awareness
Lack of self-discipline
Lack of knowledge
Lack of motivation
Lack of focus
Apathy
Vanity
Insecurity
Selfishness
Bigoted views
Feelings of superiority
An inflated sense of importance
Poor social skills
Habitual quitting

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Related:

Be a good example of what it means to be a good example.

August 21, 2015 by Zero Dean

Excerpt from: A good example

Be a good example of what it means to be a good example.

True wealth is traded in kindness and positive energy.

August 20, 2015 by Zero Dean

Excerpt from: What it means to be truly wealthy

Related:

Be the embodiment of the qualities you seek in others.

August 20, 2015 by Zero Dean

Excerpt from: Want to feel better?

Be the embodiment of the qualities you seek in others.

Conventional thinking doesn’t change the world, crazy ideas do.

August 20, 2015 by Zero Dean

Conventional thinking doesn’t change the world, crazy ideas do.

“The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.” — Andre Gide

Related:

Kindness is like an ember that starts a wildfire

August 17, 2015 by Zero Dean

Excerpt from: A single act of kindness

A single act of kindness may seem like such a small thing, but so is the ember that starts a wildfire.

Related:

Normal may be normal, but it doesn’t mean good.

August 16, 2015 by Zero Dean

Always remember that what you may consider totally weird, someone else may consider perfectly normal. And vice-versa.

Reminding yourself that what is weird and what is normal is subjective is a major step towards living in harmony with people.

Yes, every society has its standards, but every society’s standards for what is considered normal are not only subject to change, what is considered normal at any given time isn’t necessarily good for the people who contribute to making it normal.

For example, if enough people in a given area act out a bad habit consistently that bad habit becomes normal and accepted. Smoking comes to mind.

So remember, before you judge someone for not being normal, remember that normal is not only subjective, normal is not synonymous for good.

And normal certainly isn’t good if it means judging others unfavorably for exerting their individuality and not simply conforming to the crowd.

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” — Charles Addams

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