We all have a blueprint of how our life should look like couple of years from now. And the general vicinity of what we experience as a reality to what our blueprint looks like is what leads to either happiness and fulfillment in life or frustration and a whole spectrum of negativity.
However, what we rarely seem to control, but nonetheless allow for it to have an influence over our lives, is what other people say and suggest.
Starting a conversation at a cocktail party, or with any relative stranger for that matter, you will notice that the first thing that gets exchanged is your name and job title. It’s like “Hi, I’m Bob and I’m a lawyer” is a common line when describing oneself.
And for the person you are having the conversation with, this should somehow explain a lot about you, define you in a way. At least that’s what we are used to believe.
But there is more to Bob than his law degree and practice just as there is more to you than your education and what you do for a living.
Yes, I’m aware that this title alone contradicts with many of the things I’ve talked about here on Lifestyle Updated. I mean wasn’t it all about productivity? Putting the minimum input in terms of work and harvesting the biggest results? Outsourcing even, playing it smart when it comes to time economics and management?
We all focus so much on being and staying productive, that this pursue alone makes us less productive by the day.
When people feel they have made some progress towards a goal then they will become more committed towards continued effort towards achieving the goal.- This is known as the endowed progress effect.
Translated in vernacular it means that the moment you feel you are closer to achieving your goal, you get encouraged to push harder than usual. This theory has implications beyond the count. Making a system and a habit to acknowledge progress and give yourself the credit will change the game when motivating yourself in everything that you do.
Recently I got addicted to reading non-fiction. Granted, for some the book meaning leisure and entertainment, non-fiction sounds boring and kind of defeats the purpose when it comes to reading in the sense of escaping what is “real”.
But for me it is all about what you can take and learn from such literature, and being a personal development aficionado, it gets logical to dedicate even those spare hours to at least some sort of self-improvement.