An exercise in avoiding burnout, dead-end jobs, and prolonged aimless wandering.
We’re raised to accept the idea that we’re only meant to do one thing in life. We’re also taught to think that somehow we’re supposed to know what this is by the age of 18, often with zero life experience. You’re probably going to fail at figuring that out, and this is normal. The ones who figured it out early are extremely fortunate, hiding their frustrations, or have settled. Your “North Star” is probably not a single career or calling. Let’s be honest: it’s pretty difficult to believe that you’re going to be motivated to do the exact same thing for the next 40 - 50 years.
This may sound tricky or zen-like, but the truth is this: you can only do what you are willing to do, able to do, and have the opportunity to do. It’s no more or no less complicated than that. Defy this principle at your own peril. You’ll quickly find things to be frustrating, even depressing. This also may sound very limiting, but that’s only if you’re not aware of what your true potential looks like. You’ll likely find that you actually filter out the distractions and truly start making progress if you remember these three things while deciding what you invest your time and efforts in: what are your motivations, opportunities, and abiliites?
To discover your North Star:
- Continuously take inventory of your personal motivations. These will change over time, a common trap people fall into is thinking that this should always be the same.
- Constantly look for opportunities that align with your motivations. You may not be able to immediately take advantage of these opportunities, but being aware of the possibilities that are available to you gives you goals to work towards, possibly providing an additional spark of motivation.
- Invest time in developing your personal abilities so that you are able to take advantage of the opportunities you find. ( Real “luck” is when preparation meets opportunity, everything else is just superstition. )
Remember what a North Star is: It’s not a singular destination that you can “reach”. It’s a guide, a genereal heading that you follow, a reference point to keep you from straying while on your journey.
Here are the truths:
- What motivates you now probably won’t motivate you forever
- You must keep yourself positioned to protect your motivations, detect when they are naturally shifting, and be prepared to change your focus to the next thing that you’re willing to put your best effort towards.
- It’s difficult to put 100% effort in every single day, but if you find that you’re chronically not living or working to your best potential, you need to re-evaluate why or how you’re doing what you’re doing. You’re only doing a disservice to yourself and the people you serve, and blocking someone who is hungry for the opportunity that you’re currently holding.
- By having a North Star, you’ll start making progress. Progress will lead to fulfillment. Fulfillment can help you maintain motivation, and thus a positive feedback loop has been created.
- The most successfuly people are constantly reminding themselves of why they do what they do (their motivations), what things they should be focusing on (their opportunities), and what their strengths are (their abilities). You’ll almost always find this to be true. The exceptions are very rare and tend to not to last long.
- Successful people are also EXTREMELY aware of what is toxic to their motivations. Your motivation is the life-blood of your work. Protect it at all costs.
So if you’re burned out, stuck in a dead-end job, or just can’t seem to find your way, give this a try. A great way to discover some of what really motivates and excites you is something Seth Godin asks people (paraphrasing): “If money wasn’t a problem, if you didn’t need to worry about collecting a paycheck, what would you want to wake up and do everyday?” Fun fact: almost everything that I now get paid to do, I once upon a time did for free because I really enjoyed it. I guess if you’re motivated enough to do it for free, you’ll be thrilled to do it for a paycheck.
Yes, we all know that making a living is a necessity that can’t be ignored, but please don’t underestimate the opportunities available to make a living doing something that aligns with your interests or skills, no matter how grand or how simple. Take a momement to consider this: there are people right now making a living creating silly videos on YouTube. On the other end of the specturm, there are companies making millions of dollars by collecting trash from containers you place at the edge of the street.
Reality shows us that as long as you are good enough at what you do (you’ve developed your ability), and you’re doing it for the right people (opportunity), you’ll make enough money. In my observations, I find that ability is generally less about raw talent, and more about who has the motivation to get up everyday and hone their skills.
Do you have life experiences observations that back this up? Are you willing to give this a try?
For more on this topic, listen to the podcast here: