Repurpose - On strategy and cultivating one’s own garden
Work cannot fix a deficit of love. Whether it be self-love (in the form of self-confidence or self-esteem) or external love (human relationships with other people). You may design your life to seek external validation, and that is part of the human experience. You may not find longer-term fulfillment through this approach.
Work can be part of a broader life strategy. And a strategy feels uncomfortable and possibly unclear — but has a strong reason behind it. As author Cal Newport posits, lifestyle-centric career planning can be the best choice when it comes to designing your work (and life) choices. Fundamentally, this paradigm aims to eradicate seeking external validation and focus on your personal preferences and attitudes instead. When you focus on yourself for some time, love may follow. Love for yourself, which can then turn into love and gratitude for the broader world.
That individual approach to love can scale and become powerful at societal levels if everyone focuses on themselves first to expand their consciousness into society as a consequence. One must cultivate one’s own garden, as Voltaire points out in "Candide, ou L' Optimisme". We may keep a good distance between ourselves and the world, and never tie our mood to the condition of a whole nation, or people in general.
Your deficit of love may not be fixed through others, at its core. It may be fixed through yourself, to begin with. Attaching your self-worth to other individuals and groups can easily sway your decision-making and attention. Attention determines your focus and time investment. Attention is valuable and can make a difference in your strategy and life direction.
At some point, there may come a time when you have allocated enough attention and resources toward yourself and can expand your reach outward toward fostering other individuals and groups. That time may be now, or later. You will know it, and there is no necessity to rush it.
The quest for personal growth, while noble, must tread a careful path lest it veer into the realms of self-isolation and exaggerated self-importance, posing risks as grave as neglecting one's personal development altogether. The essence of human nature lies in our interconnectedness and the fundamental need for societal engagement. In the pursuit of self-improvement, it's vital not to overlook the importance of maintaining connections with the world around us, lest we lose ourselves in a solitary quest for fulfillment.
Empirical evidence from the fields of psychology, personal development, and well-being robustly affirms that adopting a well-rounded approach to self-improvement—one that is driven by genuine motivation and a balanced interaction with society—paves the way to a life of deeper meaning and greater satisfaction.
RESOURCES
- Work cannot fix a deficit of love — The School of Life
- A plan is not a strategy — Roger Martin
- Lifestyle-centric career planning — Cal Newport
- Self-worth theory — Nic Voge
- Attention, not time, is your most valuable resource
- Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
- Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
- Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.