Intrinsic value is life
You can’t control outcomes
External circumstances, validation, opinions, what do they share in common? They’re all out of your very grasp and attaching happiness and or fulfillment to them is foolish. In doing so you surrender your autonomy and attach the very essence of your being to a force that’s fickle, fleeting, and did I mention out of your control? This also applies to your work. The praise, criticism, and outcome of your efforts and intentions don’t subtract nor necessarily add to the value of it. The intrinsic value defines it, and that’s what you should align it with, for fulfillment, happiness, and worth of your work & efforts with. Stop letting others dictate your worth, or the worth of your work. Simply doing the work is enough. And here’s why.
John Kennedy Toole
The story of the writer John Kennedy Toole exemplifies this. His book A Confederacy of Dunces was ubiquitously turned down by publishers. So much so, he committed suicide in his car in Biloxi, Mississippi. After his death, his mother discovered his book, and advocated for it until it was posthumously published. For it to then subsequently win the Pulitzer Prize.
What changed between those submissions? Absolutely nothing, the book was as equally great as it was when John had it in manuscript form and fought with editors for its publication, and sold copies, and won awards. It would have saved John a ton of heartbreak over his work if only he has realized this. From his example, we can see how arbitrary many of the breaks in life are — the best reason for why we can’t let externals determine whether something was worth it or not. It’s on us. Doing the work is enough. John’s story is the embodiment of-
Life’s inevitable curveballs
What matters to an active man is to do the right thing; whether the right thing comes to pass should not bother him -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In life there will be times where we do everything right, perhaps even perfectly, yet the results will somehow yield negative. Failure, disrespect, jealousy & envy, even a resounding yawn from the world. Depending on what truly motivates us, this response can be crushing; If ego holds sway over us, we’ll accept nothing less than full appreciation. A deadly attitude, because when someone works on a project, at a certain point, it leaves our hands and enters into the realm of the world. It is judged, received, perceived, and acted on by other people. It becomes something that depends on them, not us. Doing your duty faithfully is all that matters, any adversity could be endured, and any rewards are extra.
We are all faced with this challenge in pursuit of our goals. We work hard for something that can be taken away from us. We invest time and energy even when a certain outcome isn’t guaranteed. With the right motive we’re willing to proceed, with ego, we’re not.
Think of all the philanthropists who will find that they can only advance their cause so far. The artists who are assassinated before their work, whether an album or a legendary song is done. The inventors whose ideas languish “ahead of their time.” According to society’s main metrics, these people were not rewarded for their work. Should they have not done it? Should they not be kind, not work hard, not produce, because there is a chance it wouldn’t be reciprocated? Rhetorical. The less attached we are to outcomes, the better. When fulfilling our own standards is what fills us with pride and self-respect, when the effort, not the results good or bad is enough.
With ego, this is not nearly sufficient. No, we need to be recognized. We need to be compensated. We need constant external validation. Especially problematic is the fact that, often, we get that. We are praised, we are paid, and we start to assume that the two things always go together. The expectation hangover inevitably occurs.
Get ready for it. It will happen. Maybe your parents will never be impressed as you envisioned. Maybe your partner won’t care. Maybe the investor you fought long and hard with to just have a meeting with for your pitch, won’t see the numbers. Maybe the audience won’t clap and give you a standing ovation. But we have to be able to push through. We can’t let that be what motivates us.
You will be unappreciated. You will be sabotaged. You will experience surprising failures. Your expectations will not be met. You will lose. You will fail. In the words of John Wooden:
“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best, to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Do your work, do it well, then let go and let God. Recognition and rewards — those are just extra. Rejection, sabotage, that’s on them, not on us. Doing the work is enough, and that’s why-
Intrinsic value is life
A philanthropist makes an effort to plant trees, help combat climate change through reforestation efforts. They can’t control whether those seeds are actually planted, particularly if they aren’t involved in that process, or if the seeds are properly planted. They could’ve gotten downright deceived, sabotaged, or some other factor outside of their control went wrong. All they can do is make sure the order for their reforestation efforts went through, & the invoice is sent and settled. That’s where the true value lies, where fulfillment and happiness for the endeavor is to be found — the sheer effort, and genuine intention to make such an impact, and it seemingly being executed. The ultimate outcome is out of their control, and shouldn’t, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, concern them.
P.S that was an example using me.
Zeno, founder of Stoicism, makes the important point that most people are fools and slaves. He says this because most people tie their self-worth and identity to others, and external circumstances, they are bound by the strings of fate. There’s so much outside of our control in life — in the outcome of our work, efforts, social status, even wealth. Will you let it bend and twist you and make you miserable like most who live like this? Or revolt wisely, like one of my favorite philosophers Diogenes would encourage? Through your happiness depending on the intrinsic value of your work, you are not only free; but happy, fulfilled, and content. And no one can take that away from you.
Credit to Daily Stoic for a word or two put into my own interpretation hehe
Thanks for reading
