Empty Consumption

“Work is the only thing that gives substance to life” – Albert Einstein*

I recently heard US Senator, Ben Sasse, discuss the dangers of viewing consumption over production as a desired goal. He communicates the innate desire created within human beings to produce value and highlights the dysfunction that comes when individuals lose that balance between production and consumption and become primarily a consumer.

Consumption often leads to a very empty state of being. I see this every day in my work. Just as an example, our society has an errant view of “retirement” as a chance to turn off one’s creative efforts, sit back, coast and enjoy leisure. While this can certainly be part of one’s goal, and financial freedom should create more flexibility to have that precious down time, severe problems arise when “not working” becomes the overarching life goal and an end in and of itself. We see this in micro form in people who are always trudging from Monday through Friday, just to make it to the weekend. Again, not working becomes an end goal. It’s as if our culture is working to quit.

If we were to view “retirement” not as a cessation of production, but as the flexibility to produce and create in an even more meaningful and impactful way, I wonder how that would change our outlook and journey along the way. What would your life look like if you weren’t working to quit, but working towards finding even more meaning and fulfillment in your tasks? What if deep, meaningful work was not a just a means to an end, but an end goal itself?

*Good ol’ Al was fairly intelligent dude, perhaps he was on to something here. I can’t think of anything truly valuable in my life that isn’t wrapped in effort and hard work.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on

Glutton for Punishment

I’ve learned over the years that being comfortable can be a dangerous thing. I try to find paths to discomfort to push me out of my realm of “safety.” However, I have noticed my ability to develop comfort zones amidst discomfort. I’ve found ways to be comfortable in uncomfortable circumstances. I wonder, do I need to be stretched beyond those areas as well? One of the areas in which I have adapted to the discomfort is the gym. I don’t go to the gym to exercise, to get stronger or even to be healthier. It’s grown beyond that. Now, I go to the gym to clear my head by testing my will and resolve. I do it to see how hard I can push my limits and I strive to outwork everyone else there. I may not be the strongest, the fastest or the fittest. I may not lift the most weight or even do the most reps – I can’t control any of those variables – but I can control my effort. So one of my goals for each workout is to unleash more effort than anyone else at the gym. But along with this

Commitment

You know what the problem is with a lot of goals and grand plans? They are mostly fueled by emotion rather than commitment. It is why most New Year’s Resolutions are long forgotten by now and many aspirations quietly fizzle out over time. True commitment is sticking with the effort even – if and especially when – the emotion has diminished or disappeared. Emotion can be a great initiator of action, like kindling on a fire, but it lacks staying power. Commitment is the logs that keep the fire burning long after the kindling is consumed. The butterflies after falling in love, the best intentions of waking up at 4:30am every day to work out after you join a new gym, the excitement of your first day on campus, even the sleep-deprivation induced euphoria of a new baby: all kindling. But it is commitment that keeps you working hard on the marriage twenty-three years after “I do.” It is what causes you to keep going when you do not want to make one more sales call, do one more presentat

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog