Why we do what we do, and some implications.
Imagine the most relaxing or pleasurable way you could spend a day. For me, it involves waking up on a tropical island, drinking rum with great company, then embarrassing myself on the dance floor that night. It will no doubt be different for each of you, but it’ll be wonderful nonetheless. So go ahead, imagine it, whatever it might be. Palm trees, attractive coeds, and mind-altering substances…go crazy.
Now imagine that a couple days of that go by… A week… A month…
How long could you do that until you felt dissatisfied? How long would it be before you began to hate the routine, the complacency, and the ease of your day? Paradise isn’t actually paradise at all, it turns out.
Most people, me included, need meaningful work to be happy, at least to some extent. Why exactly this is the case, I haven’t the faintest clue. Maybe it’s the endorphin rush you get after succeeding at something, maybe its because we secretly enjoy or need occasional discomfort, or maybe its because without hardship we feel purposeless.
Either way, I think you intuitively agree with me. I mean look at all the people you admire! I bet the thing they have in common is that they have all done stuff, and I bet you especially admire those things they have done that weren’t easy! And then, alternatively, look at all the celebrities and rich people who feel they don’t have to do anything anymore and lose themselves in their own “paradise”. Indeed, human beings must act, build, create, move, see, initiate, and do stuff to thrive.
So what now? Recognize that your desire to carry out projects and get stuff done is not going anywhere. Remind yourself that while it may at times feel like you’d rather be doing anything else other than working, studying, or hitting the gym, you need that stuff to feel good. And lastly, if you know that you are going to spend your whole life feeling an incessant desire to do stuff, you might as well do stuff that feels worthwhile to you, however you want to define that.
So what are you waiting for, go get after it.
That is all.