How to: Choose your work.
Our time is limited. I mean, freakingly limited. So, there are only a couple of things and projects that one can do in his/her lifetime. Thus, it becomes very important on how to choose what to work on.
Like everyone else, over the past few years, I’ve made countless work-related decisions. And truth be told, not all have worked absolutely well. However, with time, I’ve found some things that work great for me. These are the things, which have helped me gotten better at making decisiions for myself.
Have a North Star
North Star is something that is a constant and dependable in an ever changing world. It’s the one thing for which you want to optimise your life. Now, this could be different for different person, it can be — money, fame, happiness, power, impact or anything else. For me, it’s impact; but you’ll have to choose your North Star for yourself. If someone writes a gist of your life, which is one thing you’d want to be remembered for. The idea is to select one thing which you think would make you happy, and just focus on that. Leave everything else and design your life around that one particular thing.
Do meaningful work
We thrive on other people’s contribution to society. We didn’t invent the bulb, the electricity, the computer, the Internet..but we use and reap the benefits of these inventions everyday. That’s what humanity is all about — we are born, we work, and during our lifetime add that little layer to the existing knowledge of humanity. That’s our payback and gratitude to all the people who were born before us and who devoted their lifetime to make our lives better.
So, think of whatever you do as an opportunity to be remembered, not as a means to earn money. Once you do that, you’ll be surprised on how the decisions you take would change for the better. Be very very careful on what you do and be constantly asking yourself if this is the most important thing in the world that you could be working upon.
You literally ought to be asking yourself all the time what is the most important thing in the world I could be working on right now, and if you are not working on that why arent you?
— Aaron Swartz
Accept growth
People are a bunch of contradictions. Not because they’re not consistent with their thoughts, but because people grow with time & experience. And that’s perfectly fine. Though I feel that one’s North Star remains more or less constant in life; however, at times you might feel that the path you’ve chosen to reach there isn’t the right or the most optimal one. If you are at such a juncture, change !
Follow your heart
There are situations where your reason and heart would be opposed to each other. During all such times, let your heart decide. Because somewhere, deep inside, your heart always knows what you want to become. Rationalism, and being logical sometimes takes you awry.
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite.Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. — Khalil Gibran
Don’t outsource decisions.
There are times when our thinking is clouded; and it’s during those times, it seems most convinient to let someone else — your family, relative, friends or anyone else — decide on your behalf. Never do that. Believe in yourself. It’s generally a good idea to discuss with the people you love or admire; but be courageous enough to take your own decisions. Even in the worst case scenario — the only thing that can happen is that the things won’t turn out the way you wished. That’s still not a very big deal
Believe in yourself
Lastly, even if you do everything right, there would be times when things won’t go as you planned. During that time, it would be most difficult but you have to believe in yourself.
You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. — Steve Jobs
You can reach out to me on twitter: @smilesikand
